Liberate Moscow supporters protested, as Latah County confirmed a fourth case of COVID-19 Monday night

One size does not fill all was the tone at Monday night’s Liberate Moscow protest, where over 100 people gathered at City Hall to protest Gov. Brad Little’s stay-at-home order and Moscow’s City Council.

The protest was organized by Gabriel Rench and Caleb Bouma. Rench who spoke during the protest is running for county commissioner and the moderator of the deacon board at Christ Church.

Rench said this protest was not organized with the Disobey Idaho protests that happened across the state this past weekend.

Rench organized the protest to not only focus on the stay-at-home order but Moscow’s City Council, as well, due to their emergency orders which extend until May 5. He said he wants to see the city resign their orders so then the focus can be on Little’s stay-at-home order, which was extended until April 30.

“I think our city council is overreacting making a decision based out of fear and not out of fact,” Rench said.

Caleb, a youth committeeperson for the Latah County Republicans, disagreed with Rench on protesting City Council. Caleb said City Council is just following Little’s footsteps so he was more concerned with the state-wide order.

But a large point he said he was brought up was that Latah County has not confirmed a case of COVID-19 in 11 days.  

However, while the protest wrapped up, numbers from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare came in confirming the fourth case of COVID-19 in Latah County.

Caleb added the City of Moscow’s emergency orders due to COVID-19 came too early and the city should have waited until there was a confirmed case.

The City of Moscow passed Emergency Order 20-01, restricting mass gatherings and non-essential businesses to move to curbside or drive-thru services, on March 20 and the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Latah County on April 1.

He made the comparison of holding his breath too early.

“If you knew there was a tsunami coming, or a massive wave and you knew ‘OK, I have to hold my breath to get through this.’ Would it make sense to start holding your breath 20 seconds before it hit you?” Caleb said. “Because that’s going to diminish how long you survive under the wave when it actually does hit you.”

During the protest, Rench said they care about the people who have died from COVID-19. In Idaho, 48 people have died from COVID-19.

“Of course, we care about those who have died from COVID,” Rench said. “Just like we care about those who died from H1N1, the flu and so forth.”

Rench went on to say they care about the high-risk populations of COVID-19, like the elderly. But in Idaho, 72% of the confirmed cases are in people under the age of 60, according to data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

ICYM: To learn more about Idaho’s confirmed cases click here

Caleb’s father, Gresham Bouma was also in attendance at Monday’s protest.

Gresham said Gov. Little’s stay-at-home order has not been adapted for rural areas and is the same plan major cities like New York and Seattle are using.

According to New York State’s COVID-19 page, New York is under their stay-at-home order until May 15. They are also requiring all citizens to wear a face mask when out in public.

New York has shut down all schools and non-essential businesses until May 15 as well.

While Idaho has recommended schools stay closed until the end of the academic year, they are allowing local communities to make the decision themselves. So long as they meet a specific criteria.

“It’s not a one size fits all solution,” Gresham said.

While the protest went on the Moscow Police Department was also present to monitor the event. As both the Moscow emergency orders and Idaho stay-at-home orders prohibit mass gatherings.

Chief James Fry said the MPD followed protocols of other police forces across the state to educate people about social distancing and other safety precautions while allowing the protestors to express their opinions. Fry said the MPD would not be handing out tickets or citations.

Caleb said Gresham called the MPD to inform them of Monday’s protest, and their right to protest was more important than a ticket.

“They might give us a ticket if somebody is not maintaining social distance. And we just decided, that’s kind of the price we’ll pay for protecting liberty,” Caleb said.   

Alex Brizee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @alex_brizee