Reopen protests spread




HONK IF YOU CARE—Activists gather at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura on May 1 to voice opinions both for and against the coronavirus lockdown. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

HONK IF YOU CARE—Activists gather at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura on May 1 to voice opinions both for and against the coronavirus lockdown. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

Holding signs that said “All jobs are essential,” “I have the right to work” and “Feeding my family is essential,” a crowd of around 400 to 500 protesters gathered outside the Ventura County government center May 1 to demand a swift end to the state’s 6-week-old stay-home mandate.

The noon rally in Ventura coincided with similar demonstrations up and down the state in places like Huntington Beach, Rancho Cucamonga and San Diego that showed the frustration of residents who say they are fed up with the public health orders intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. of the coronavirus.

“My family’s entire savings is in our business, and we’re on the verge of losing it all,” said Marlene Woods, who owns a specialty store that’s had to close during the shutdown. “I’m here for us as well as our employees, who’ve been home for weeks now.”

Former Thousand Oaks Councilmember Rob McCoy, who stepped down last month after he announced plans to hold communion at his Newbury Park church in defiance of state and county orders, was among the speakers who addressed the crowd via bullhorn.

THE VOICE—Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park speaks in favor of reopening the local economy during the May 1 March for Freedom at the Ventura County Government Center. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

THE VOICE—Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park speaks in favor of reopening the local economy during the May 1 March for Freedom at the Ventura County Government Center. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

McCoy, a one-time Republican candidate for the Assembly, and John Ziegler, a former radio host, have become leading voices in the movement to reopen Ventura County, which argues that the government’s response to COVID-19 (closing businesses and schools and banning nonessential travel) will have a worse impact than the virus itself, which has killed over 70,000 people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Gov. Newsom is not permitted to step outside the requirements and the duty he has to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” McCoy told The Acorn after addressing the crowd. “To declare the church nonessential is a violation of the First Amendment. We will abide by CDC standards, but you cannot arbitrarily decide what part of the Constitution you want to defend and what you don’t want to defend.”

Ziegler was joined by his 7-year-old daughter, Grace, who held a sign saying “Back to School.” Ziegler, a Camarillo resident, chided Ventura County Public Health Director Dr. Robert Levin for overstating the threat of the virus, referencing a statement Levin made in March about the possibility of 1,000 COVID-19 deaths locally, a figure based on nationally accepted modeling at the time. (Levin’s since suggested 250 deaths are more likely.)

To date, 19 deaths in the county have been attributed to the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

“I don’t have a fancy medical degree, but I could have told you Ventura County was not going to be anything like New York City,” he said. “Those twin towers in Oxnard look pretty ominous, but other than that, I think there’s a few differences between Ventura and New York City, and we ought to be treated differently than New York City.”

Inside the government center, county officials made known their displeasure with the demonstrators.

Speaking during a regularly scheduled briefing taking place at the same time as the protest, Sheriff Bill Ayub said he was disappointed to see “such flagrant disregard for the health orders.”

“While, in law enforcement, we promote the right to express freedom of speech—we fight for it, in fact, and we go to great lengths to make sure that our citizenry can do that—in this case, we’re seeing a lot of crowding and, unfortunately, a very poor example to others as to what the message that this group is trying to deliver in fact is,” Ayub said. “The participants expose themselves to sickness as well as potential criminal or civil culpability, and they really diminish the message they’re trying to share with the public by doing that.”

Dr. John Fankhauser, head of two county-run hospitals—Ventura County Medical Center and Santa Paula Hospital—was more critical, calling the group “careless” and likening them to individuals who light fires in brushy areas during Santa Ana winds.

Fankhauser noted how cases in the United States had exploded between March 15 (3,400) and April 15 (over 300,000). During that same time period in Ventura County, the number of confirmed cases went from five to 365.

“That’s how this virus works. In three weeks we would be buried if we are careless like that group of people are standing outside of our building today,” he said.

Fankhauser acknowledged that public health directives ask a lot of people, but he urged those who are losing patience to “stay the course.” For how long, he didn’t say.

“There is so much pseudoscience . . . it’s important for us to recognize this threat is real, this virus is not gone,” he said.

In addition to the protesters at Telephone Road and Victoria Avenue, several cars with American flags and more protest signs circled the area to join the event.

Organizers’ instructions posted online before the protest informed participants they would be required to maintain CDC guidelines, specifically keeping 6 feet away from non-family members, but that did not happen.

Many small groups of couples and families did keep distanced, but many more did not, and on the main government center corner people were tightly packed to wave at cars passing by. Not many wore masks, which, organizers said—echoing the county public health officer—were optional.

Among those wearing the face coverings were four people dressed in medical scrubs who lined up in front of the protesters with their arms crossed. One said they were all doctors but declined to say more.

Protests were planned again throughout California, including Ventura, for May 9.

Of the May 1 timing of the demonstration, protester Angie Sutton of Simi Valley said it was appropriate.

“May Day is a call for help when a boat is in distress,” she said. “We, the people, are in distress and we need help. Our freedom and our livelihoods have been taken away and we need to take them back.”