Prospective Libertarian Party presidential candidate Rep. Justin Amash (L-MI) has denounced anti-lockdown protests which took place in state capitals across the country in a Thursday interview with the New York Times.
Amash said although he supported the right of the demonstrators to protest and was sympathetic to their cause, he disapproved of the way in which they conducted themselves.
“I don’t sympathize with the way they did it. I don’t think it’s wise to ignore guidance on social distancing. I think that a lot of them are wrong about their belief that there’s no risk at all,” he said.
“You can disagree with the idea of people getting all together to protest and potentially putting more people at risk — I think that’s a bad idea — while still supporting their right to protest.”
Amash’s remarks come as something of a surprise, given that many libertarians are supporting the nationwide protests. The organizer of the anti-lockdown protest in Hartford, CT was none other than Libertarian Party of Connecticut chairman Dan Reale.
“I can’t help but think what monsters have we turned ourselves into with all the fear and the shame,” Reale said. “All we’re doing is just destroying those interactions that make us people.”
Republican President Donald Trump has praised the protesters, and backed their movement to liberate the American people.
“Their life was taken away from them,” he said last week. “These people love our country, they want to get back to work.”
