Far-Right Social Media Helps Stir Protests Over Quarantines
- Newly registered ‘Reopen’ domains are linked to gun advocates
- Organizers include libertarians, Trump supporters and a nurse
Hundreds gather to protest the state's stay-at-home order, at the Capitol building in Olympia, Washington on April 19.
Photographer: Karen Ducey/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Small bands of protesters have staged demonstrations over the government-ordered lockdowns in the otherwise empty streets of a number of Democratic-led states, driven by the social-media tactics of a coalition of gun-rights activists and far-right groups.
Mostly in states with Democratic governors and sometimes encouraged by President Donald Trump, protests have sprung up to demand an end to social-distancing measures that have closed schools and businesses. Although relatively small, the gatherings strike an unusual picture these days -- people gathered in groups together.