As coronavirus cases surge in Los Angeles county, a group of anti-masker protesters stormed through a LA grocery store and the the Westfield Century City mall over the weekend. The group of anti-maskers would harass employees and customers as they stormed through the mall protesting COVID-19 health mandates. Videos posted on Twitter shows the anti-maskers walking through a Ralphs and the Westfield Century City mall chanting "no more masks" and getting into shouting matches with other shoppers who wanted them to put on a mask or leave. Some protesters carried signs calling COVID-19 a "con-job" and claiming that the numbers of cases are inflated. Other videos show anti-maskers trying to push open the doors of stores and arguing with employees. Los Angeles police Officer Rosario Cervantes told BuzzFeed News that there were no arrests and officers responded to the locations to just keep the peace. Officer Cervantes said, "We were there to keep the peace and they were there to facilitate their First Amendment rights."
The director for the county's department of health services, Dr. Christina Ghaly, reiterated during a press conference,
"Wearing a face covering isn't a statement about how you feel about your own health. Wearing a mask will protect you, but even more so it will protect those around you. It's a statement about how committed you are to protecting the health and the lives of those around you."
What do you think about this?
You can see video from the protests below:
Photo Credit: Getty Images