Armed men, a man dressed as Santa Claus, a pop-up barber giving haircuts, and protesters holdings signs which compared President Trump to ...
Armed men, a man dressed as Santa Claus, a pop-up barber giving haircuts, and protesters holdings signs which compared President Trump to Rambo and Dr. Anthony Fauci to a Nazi were among hundreds who descended on Pennsylvania's state capitol to demand Governor Tom Wolf lift the statewide lockdown.
Demonstrators chanted ‘Open us up’ and ‘Let us work’ as they gathered on the steps of the Capitol building in Harrisburg while others in cars circled the area and honked their horns in agreement.
Wolf, a Democrat, has faced stiff opposition from Republican-run counties in his state who are demanding that he allow businesses to reopen.
Protesters urging the state government to end the coronavirus COVID-19 shutdown and reopen businesses gather outside the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg on Friday
One of the protesters offered others a chance to get a haircut. Nonessential businesses like salons, beauty parlors, and barber shops across the state have been shuttered by the state due to the pandemic
Another protester got a lot of attention after showing up in a Santa Claus costume. Others asked to take a selfie with Santa
Others held signs saying that COVID-19 is 'no worse than the flu' and that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, should be fired
A number of counties have even defied the governor’s lockdown by allowing nonessential activity to resume.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Russ Diamond, a Republican who represents Lebanon County, was greeted with cheers after reminding the protesters that county leaders defied Wolf by reopening the economy.
Diamond and others also demanded that the state’s secretary of health, Dr. Rachel Levine, resign.
Some of the protesters were heard chanting ‘Lock her up!’ and ‘Impeach Wolf!’ according to the York Daily Record.
Another demonstrator wearing the colors of the American flag holds up a sign which reads 'Open Pennsylvania now'
A Trump supporter drove a Trump-themed pick-up truck near the protesters in Harrisburg on Friday
Governor Tom Wolf came under fire from the protesters after imposing a weekslong lockdown during the pandemic
A trucker drove by the protest after having written 'Jesus is my vaccine' on his truck in Harrisburg on Friday
Another sign waved by protesters at the demonstration in Harrisburg on Friday reads 'Stop the COVID con job'
One demonstrator holds an American flag in one hand and a sign in the other which reads 'Selfish and proud'
Another demonstrator holds a sign which reads 'Grandparents for herd immunity' in Harrisburg on Friday
Wolf has been accused of overstepping his authority by imposing what some consider to be one of the strictest lockdowns in the country.
The mild-mannered Wolf has had to decide how far to go in enforcing the orders, mindful of criticism that he’s nothing short of a tyrant.
And visiting the state Thursday was President Donald Trump, stoking the conflict with tweets such as one that said Pennsylvanians 'want their freedom now.'
He told reporters before leaving Washington that Pennsylvania ‘ought to start thinking about opening it up. You have a lot of people who want their freedom, and they’ll get their freedom very soon.’
Like in swing states Michigan and Wisconsin, Republicans are trying to ensure that Democratic governors, rather than Trump, take the blame.
‘Tom Wolf is going to be as much on the ballot as much as the president, the Legislature and Congress for his handling of this, but he’s going to be judged not just by Republicans but by Democrats and independents,’ said Lawrence Tabas, chairman of Pennsylvania’s Republican Party.
For Democrats who have stood by Wolf, that’s just fine right now.
Polls show that the public has generally embraced how Wolf — who easily won reelection in 2018 — has managed the crisis.
Demonstrators blasted Wolf and the state's secretary of health, Dr. Rachel Levine (pictured with Wolf in the sign held up by the protesters in the middle)
One of the demonstrators drove by with a sign that superimposed Trump's face on the body of Rambo
Another protester holds up a sign denouncing Levine. 'Fake stats,' reads the sign, which also calls Levine a 'COVID-19 liar'
A group of men apparently belonging to a right-wing militia is seen above on the steps of the Capitol in Harrisburg
Several of the protesters waved American flags while protesting in Harrisburg on Friday
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll released Tuesday found that more than two in three people surveyed from April 27 to May 4 approve of how Wolf has handled the outbreak.
Trump’s approval nationally in the same poll was at 43 per cent.
The political fight as much over people’s well-being and public health — federal health officials are aligned with Wolf’s cautious approach — as it is over who will be blamed for the state’s economic devastation if it is not on the mend by Election Day.
About 2 million Pennsylvania residents have lost their jobs since mid-March.
Food and milk giveaways draw long lines.
Some people have gone two months without money because of the state’s problem-plagued online unemployment benefits portal.
The protests appear to be working, as the governor moved on Friday to at least partially lift the lockdown in several counties.
Another 2.6 million people across western Pennsylvania began to emerge from pandemic restrictions on Friday as Wolf prepared to announce that 12 more counties soon would join them in a partial easing.
Wolf planned to announce that Adams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Wayne and York will be the next batch of counties moving to the ‘yellow’ phase of his reopening plan, effective May 22, The Associated Press has learned.
They are primarily in the south-central and northeast regions of the state.
They’ll join residents of 13 lightly impacted counties - including the cities of Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Altoona - where Wolf lifted his stay-at-home orders on Friday and gave permission for retailers and other types of businesses to reopen.
Twenty-four counties across a vast swath of primarily rural northern Pennsylvania were the first to see a partial reopening last week.
One of the protesters who drove by in their cars displayed a cardboard cut-out of President Trump's head attached to the passenger seat
Other demonstrators held up signs denouncing 'socialism' and the coronavirus lockdown
One protester wore a Trump-themed face covering while holding a pitchfork with a sign attached that read 'No coward'
One protester held a sign which read 'Fear the new normal, not the virus' in Harrisburg on Friday
Other protesters in Harrisburg made signs comparing both the governor, Wolf, and Fauci to Nazis
Another protester dressed in black and wearing a mask holds a sign which reads 'The end is near' in Harrisburg on Friday
Protesters hold signs which read 'My rights don't end where your fear starts!' and 'Fear is a liar' in Harrisburg on Friday
Another protester holds a sign which reads 'The new symbol of tyranny.' It includes a photo of a face mask, which the protester compares to a muzzle
Another protester in Harrisburg attended the demonstration wearing a 'Trump 2020' face mask on Friday
Young girls were also in attendance during the anti-lockdown demonstration in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday
All told, by the end of next week, more than 40 per cent of Pennsylvania’s population of 12.8 million will have seen an easing of pandemic restrictions that were intended to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with very ill COVID-19 patients.
The state’s efforts to contain a virus outbreak that has sickened over 60,000 and killed more than 4,300 statewide have cratered the Pennsylvania economy, and Wolf is under pressure from Republican and some Democratic county officeholders to reopen more quickly.
Some GOP-controlled counties have vowed to lift restrictions on their own — without Wolf’s blessing — bringing threats of retaliation from the Democratic governor.
In the counties where Wolf has lifted restrictions, people are now permitted to gather in groups of up to 25, although larger crowds remain prohibited.
A wide range of retailers, offices and industrial sites can resume operating while observing state and federal health guidelines intended to prevent viral transmission.
However, gyms, barber shops, nail salons, casinos, theaters and other such venues are required to remain closed and other restrictions will remain in place, including a ban on youth sports.
And bars and restaurants may still offer only delivery or takeout service.
Pennsylvania, which borders hard-hit New York and New Jersey, has about the 10th highest rate of coronavirus infection nationally, according to federal statistics.
Wolf on Friday moved to partially lift restrictions in several counties in Pennsylvania, though most areas won't be easing the lockdown until June 4
Trump supporters and protesters hold American flags as they look on during the demonstrations in Harrisburg on Friday
A protester outlines the words 'neither liberty or safety' at a rally against the coronavirus in Harrisburg on Friday
Another protester waves a flag which makes Trump appear as Rambo with the words 'No more bulls***'
A protester dressed as Santa Claus waves from a top-down convertible as it drove near the State Capitol in Harrisburg on Friday
A protester wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat and covering his face with a red bandanna is seen above in Harrisburg on Friday
A man holds a taxidermy wolf head during protests denouncing Governor Wolf in Harrisburg on Friday
One woman holds up a sign which reads 'We are not the cowards' during a demonstration in Harrisburg on Friday
A man with an assault rifle gestures on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg on Friday
'Beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing,' reads one sign. Another sign reads: 'Stop crying Wolf!'
Critics of Wolf’s shutdown orders, primarily Republicans, contend that they are inflicting undue suffering and are no longer warranted, saying he has met his original objective of ensuring that hospitals did not become overwhelmed.
Local officials have cited the opinions of doctors at their area health systems who say the state’s economy can safely reopen and co-exist with the virus.
Sign-waving protesters, many of them without masks, staged another rally at the state Capitol on Friday to protest the shutdown.
Small business owners in particular have chafed against Wolf’s closure of 'non-life-sustaining' businesses, saying it threatens to drive them out of business.
A handful of gyms, barbers, hair salons and restaurants have opened in defiance of the governor, saying they can operate without putting their employees’ or customers’ health at risk.
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