Chris Lange, FISM News
A “Defeat the Mandates” march saw roughly 30,000 people take to the streets of Washington D.C. late Sunday morning as protesters peacefully marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial to protest nationwide COVID-19 mandates and vaccination passports.
Many participants carried signs and banners emblazoned with slogans like, “We the people will not comply” and “My body, my choice,” while chanting “No mandates.” During the rally, protesters and speakers called for reasonable debate and the power of informed consent.
“You’re going to hear a lot of people talk about – on the left say this is a big, anti-vax rally — it’s people coming in to deny science,” march organizer and PragerU commentator Will Witt told Fox News Digital ahead of the rally last week. “But this march is about the mandate, and this march is about the draconian measures that we’re seeing all across this country right now, especially in places like D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco.” Witt’s comments were partially in reference to a number of major U.S. cities that are currently requiring residents to show proof of vaccination to enter establishments like restaurants and gyms.
The event was sponsored by several prominent groups, including the World Council for Health, Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, and the Children’s Health Defense. Featured speakers included Dr. Robert Malone, inventor of mRNA technology used in Covid vaccines, and Stephanie De Garay, who says her 12-year-old daughter suffered extreme reactions and nearly died after participating in the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine trials and is now confined to a wheelchair.
Dr. Peter McCullough, a Dallas cardiologist and epidemiologist, spoke to the crowd about the risks that are associated with COVID-19 vaccines, which he says are suppressed by the media and a corrupt pharmaceutical industry.
Dr. Robert Malone urges crowd at #DefeatTheMandates march to “get informed about the risks” associated with the vaccine. pic.twitter.com/0vX1aYMYtJ
— Matthew Miller (@mattmiller757) January 23, 2022
Members of “Operation Freedom of Choice” representing a group of firefighters against the vaccine mandates were also on hand to raise awareness of the negative impact mandatory vaccine policies are having on first responders across the country.
“The mental strain on first responders is already at an all-time high … To turn around and say now you’re not worth being a firefighter … it’s a huge impact,” said a spokesman from the group.
A group of firefighters says first responders are being fired and facing numerous hardships due to vaccine mandates. #DefeatTheMandates pic.twitter.com/PpqSJrKHSw
— Matthew Miller (@mattmiller757) January 23, 2022
Nation of Islam’s Rizza Islam and Rabbi Zev Epstein spoke back-to-back about the dangers of medical mandates, with Epstein telling the crowd the decision of whether or not to get vaccinated must “remain a personal choice.”
A handful of counter-protesters were spotted at the march, one of whom was recorded verbally lashing out against the protesters, accusing them of being “white supremacists” and Trump supporters, according to a Washington Examiner report.
On its website “Defeat the Mandates” called for authorities and businesses to stop “the mass firings” and “segregating by vaccination status.” They also decried the narrative that unvaccinated Americans are “unpatriotic for making a personal medical choice.” Their stated mission is, “We want to be free. Free to work. Free to travel. Free to learn. Free to question. Free to speak. Free to pray. Free to say no.”
The Supreme Court earlier this month shot down the Biden administration’s mandate requiring all workers at large companies to be fully vaccinated. The president responded by urging businesses to enforce mandates themselves and accused the court of thwarting “common-sense, life-saving requirements.”
On Friday a federal judge in Texas blocked a separate vaccine mandate Biden imposed on federal employees, calling it a “bridge too far” for the president to “require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment” without Congressional input.
Opinions on COVID-19-related mandates remain mostly split along party lines, according to a Jan. 13 Rasmussen poll, which shows that 78% of Democratic voters support mandatory vaccines compared to 22% of Republicans. The study also revealed that 55% of Democrats are in favor of federal or state governments imposing fines on Americans who refuse to get vaccinated and, shockingly, that nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters think the government should fine or imprison individuals who publicly question vaccine efficacy on social media, television, or online or digital publications.