COVID-19

The Hate Behind Anti-Lockdown Protests

The true motivations behind the anti-lockdown rallies are just as concerning for minorities as the spread of COVID-19.

Arturo Dominguez
10 min readApr 23, 2020

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Coronavirus Lockdown Protests in Columbus Ohio — Source via Creative Commons

While the press brings attention to anti-lockdown protests happening across the country, many Americans have been focused on not just the idiocy of armed rallies against policies benefiting the public’s health, but the white privilege behind rallygoers screaming about their civil liberties being violated after years of howling when Black folks, Latinos, or other people of color have done the same.

If it feels like there’s more to these protests, that’s because there is.

As you know, the first large anti-government rally took place in Lansing, Michigan. It was dubbed “Operation Gridlock” by the primary organizers of the event, the Michigan Conservative Coalition, a far-right group with various ties to known extremists and extremist groups as well as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. These not-so-good-spellers welcomed extremist groups to attend their rally helping boost their numbers — and expose as many people as possible to COVID-19.

The ensuing chaos of “Operation Gridlock” resulted in members of the Proud Boys — who are always outraged about protests against police…

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Arturo Dominguez

Journalist covering Congress, Racial Justice, Human Rights, Cuba, Texas | Editor: The Antagonist Magazine |