On a day dedicated to honoring those who died fighting for freedom, protesters gathered in Raleigh to continue their battle against pandemic-related restrictions they say infringe on their freedoms.
Raleigh, N. C. — On a day dedicated to honoring those who died fighting for freedom, protesters gathered in Raleigh to continue their battle against pandemic-related restrictions they say infringe on their freedoms.
«We stand here in honor of the veterans who paid the highest price – their lives for our freedom,» one organizer of ReOpen Wake County told a crowd in a downtown parking lot. «Today, these very freedoms are hanging in the balance.»
The ReOpenNC movement, which has held Tuesday rallies since mid-April, shifted to Monday this week to align their fight against Gov. Roy Cooper’s restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus with Memorial Day.
«Where’s our freedom? We have no freedom. All this is all a lie,» said the owner of Tippett’s Mill Bar in Zebulon, who declined to give his full name.
The man said he had spent $2,500 to prepare the bar for reopening, only to learn last week that he won’t be able to reopen before the end of June.
Cooper scaled back initial plans for the second stage of a three-part plan to resume business and social activities during the pandemic, telling the owners of bars, gyms and indoor entertainment venues that they must wait at least five more weeks to reopen.
