Parents, Children in Idaho Burn Facemasks on Capitol Steps During Rally

More than a hundred anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers in Idaho's Boise burned face masks in a shocking incident to protest coronavirus restrictions levied on cities. The mask burning, which took place in front of the Idaho Capitol on Saturday, March 6, included children whose parents persuaded them to do so.

READ: Coronavirus: Should My Family Wear Face Mask?

According to videos posted on social media, adults can be seen encouraging children to throw masks into a fire inside a trash can outside the state Capitol's steps.

The protestors claim that wearing masks denies them their freedom and privileges and restricts their actions. Anti-mask protesters also targeted President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

A protestor set fire to a surgical mask that read, "Joe Biden Sucks." "No masks, no mandates," read a sign held by one protestor at the site. "Our face, our thoughts." "Those who give up liberty to buy safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," said Benjamin Franklin in another.

Another organizer leads the flagship crowd of about 150 people. As the police told protesters to put the fire out, the officers said, "get out of here."

ALSO READ: 5 Easy Ways to Wear Face Masks Comfortably (Even During Summer)

Parents and children's rallies in Idaho against facemask despite COVID-19

The rally happened despite reports that Idaho has been hit harder by the pandemic than any of its surrounding states. In the county, 105 people died for every 100,000 people, compared to 54 in Oregon and 66 in Washington. The state registered its first case of COVID-19 on March 13, 2020.

Further, Idaho's Republican Governor Brad Little blasted his own party's attempts to reverse his COVID-19 emergency declaration, which he issued in late January 2021. Republicans dominate both the statehouse and the state senate.

"I believe in my heart that what the Idaho Legislature is doing is detrimental to our people and incorrect for Idaho," Mr. Little said, adding, "I urge my partners in the Legislature to stop the political gains and do what is right for the people of Idaho."

Governor Brad Little, though, has never issued a statewide mask law, but mask laws exist in seven counties and 11 towns.

Little said the state's declaration to receive federal support was "critical." The state senate subsequently supported the idea of ending the declaration of emergency.

READ MORE: Dad Shared How He Got Son to Wear Face Mask

Looking back at his actions over the past year, Mr. Little said, "We could have better prepared some federal programs that we had known before."

He added, "The one thing I know would certainly have been a disaster for a no-action alternative. No one did that. You had to act given the magnitude of the pandemic."

Mr. Little was asked whether he would open the government as fully as Texas and Mississippi; he answered, "Texas and Mississippi open up where we are now. People are removing their masks. We have no mandate. They open up companies we have opened. In Idaho, the only real problem is to get bigger, and while we check the hospitals to make sure that they're all right, that's the next thing."

Little also argued the bill would penalize states like Idaho, which remained mostly free during the pandemic, lasting President Joe Biden's $1.9tn COVID-19 relief bill passed by the Senate on March 6.

The majority of netizens condemned the mask-burning videos, expressing shock and outrage at the act, more so, for including children in such a dangerous event.