PROTEST...MASKED AS A "PSALM SING" IN MOSCOW, IDAHO.
AND IT LANDED THREE
PEOPLE IN HANDCUFFS
AND TWO OTHERS WERE
HANDED CITATIONS FOR
NOT WEARING A MASK.
THE FIRST OF ITS KIND,
THAT WE HAVE HEARD
ABOUT...IN THE STATE OF
IDAHO.
MOSCOW HAS A MASK
MANDATE...ONE OF THE
FEW CITIES IN IDAHO THAT
DOES.
THEY'VE HAD IT SINCE
JULY FIRST.
SAME AS IT IS IN BOISE...IF
YOU CAN'T BE MORE
THAN 6 FEET APART FROM
PEOPLE NOT IN YOUR
HOUSEHOLD, EITHER
INSIDE OR OUT...YOU HAVE
TO WEAR A MASK.
ON MONDAY, MOSCOW'S
CITY COUNCIL EXTENDED
THE MASK ORDER TO
JANUARY 5TH.
MEMBERS OF CHRIST
CHURCH DECIDED THEY
HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF
IT...AND PUT TOGETHER A
PROTEST-SLASH-PSALM
SING...WHERE THEY
WOULD GATHER IN THE
CITY HALL PARKING LOT
WEDNESDAY...AND WELL,
SING.
THE PASTOR WHO
ORGANIZED THE
EVENT...TOLD US THEY
WERE WANTING TO MAKE
A STATEMENT THAT
THEY'RE READY TO
RETURN TO NORMAL.
THIS TIME...CLOSE TO
TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE
SHOWED UP.
THE CITY WAS
READY...THEY OPENED UP
THE PARKING LOT...EVEN
MARKED OUT SIX FEET
SECTIONS ON THE
GROUND.
BUT NOT EVERYBODY
KEPT THEIR SPACE.
AND THAT'S WHEN THE
POLICE MOVED IN.
ONE OF THOSE ARRESTED
WAS GABRIEL RENCH.
HE'S A DEACON OF
CHRIST CHURCH...AND HE
ALSO HAPPENS TO BE
RUNNING FOR A LATAH
COUNTY COMMISSIONER
SEAT.
THEY'VE DONE THESE
TYPE OF GET-TO-GETHERS
BEFORE...SEVERAL TIMES...I
WAS TOLD.
AND EVEN RENCH
WASN'T SURE WHY THIS
ONE WENT THIS WAY.
"THE TIMES WE'VE DONE
THE PSALM SING IN THE
PAST UNDER THE SAME
RESOLUTION WE WEREN'T
ARRESTED WE WEREN'T
WARNED, NO WARNINGS,
NO NOTHING, AND SO WE
WERE
WERE JUST
WERE JUST TAKING OUR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES TO DO WHAT
WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO
UNDER THE CONSTITUION,
WORSHIP. THE
GOVERNMENT CANNOT
DICTATE US TO WHERE WE
CAN WORSHIP, WHAT
TIME WE CAN WORSHIP
AND SO THAT WAS KIND
OF OUR PROTEST OF
EXTENDING THE
RESOLUTION THROUGH
JAN 5TH WAS THROUGH A
WONDERFUL PSALM
SING."
SO YOU GUYS HAVE AND
THESE PSALM SINGS
BEFORE? AND NOBODY'S
BEEN ARRESTED OR CITED?
NO
SO WHAT WAS DIFFERENT
ABOUT LAST NIGHT?
WELL I THINK THEY
WANTED TO MAKE AN
ISSUE OUT OF IT, THEY
WANTED TO FLEX THEIR
MUSCLES BECAUSE WE
HAD ALREADY DONE
PSALM SINGS IN THE PAST
AND THEY WANTED TO
MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF US
AND SO THEY WARNED US
THAT THEY WERE EITHER
GOING TO CITE US, OR
TAKE US TO JAIL. THE
REASON THEY TOOK ME
TO JAIL IS BECAUSE I
WOULDN'T GIVE THEM MY
DRIVER'S LICENSE. IT'S
NOT THAT I WOULDN'T
GIVE IT TO THEM, I JUST
WOULDN'T ANSWER THE
QUESTION ABOUT THE
DRIVERS LICENSE. THE
OFFICER SAID 'GIVE ME
YOUR LICENSE' AND I SAID
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO
THIS
AND SO HE KEPT ASKING
FOR MY DIVER'S LICENSE
AND I KEPT PREACHING TO
HIM AND THEN HE SAID
I'M GOING TO ASK YOU
ONE MORE TIME, HE
ASKED ME ONE MORE
TIME, AND THEN HE
ARRESTED ME
HOW DID IT GO FROM
THEN WALING UP TO YOU
TO THEM ASKING FOR
YOUR ID?
THEY WALKED UP TO ME
AND MY MOM, THEY SAID
TO MY MOM 'ARE YOU
WITH HIM?' AND MY MOM
SAID 'HE'S MY SON,' AND
THEN I LOOKED TO THE
GUY NEXT TO ME AND PUT
MY ARM AROUND HIM
AND I SAID BUT THIS IS MY
FRIEND
FRIEND AND SO THAT'S WHAT MADE IT EASY FOR THEM TO START TALKING
TO ME
AND THAT'S WHY THEY
ASKED FOR MY ID
WHAT DO YOU HAVE
AGAINST A MASK
MANDATE WHEN NOT
ABLE TO SOCIAL
DISTANCE?
THERE;S FIRST
AMENDMENT ISSUES
THERE WHEN THEY'RE
DICTATING MY FREE
SPEECH, THEY'RE PUTTING
IN A MASK, REQUIRING ME
TO WEAR CLOTHES I
DON'T WANT TO WEAR,
SO THERE'S SOME FIRST
AMENDMENT ISSUES
THERE. THE BIGGER ISSUE I
ACTUALLY HAVE WITH IT
IS THE GOVERNMENT
TELLING ME TO WEAR A
MASK, THEY CAN'T TELL
ME TO WEAR CONDOM,
THEY CAN'T TELL ME TO
TAKE A VACCINE. IOT'S
JUST PETTY AND
UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN
THE MOST EGREGIOUS
WAY BECAUSE IT'S
ACTUALLY A DETAIL THAT
CONNECTS TO SOME
BIGGER, FAR AWAY ISSUE
THAT WE'RE SETTING
OURSELVES UP TO LOSE
LIBERTIES FAR GREATER
THAN WHAT WE KNOW
NOW
BUT THEY CAN TELL YOU
TO WEAR A SEATBELT,
RIGHT?
YEAH THAT'S A PROBLEM,
THEY SHOULDN'T BE
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
TO SOMEONE WHO SAID
IT'S JUST A MASK. JUST
PUT IT ON AROUND
PEOPLE YOU DON'T KNOW
AND YOU CAN'T BE
DISTANT FROM THEM
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF
SOMEONE TOLD YOU IT'S
JUST A VACCINE STICK IT
IN YOUR ARM, IT'S FOR
THE HEALTH OF THE
COMMUNITY DO IT
I'VE HAD A FLU SHOT
BEFORE
YEAH, BUT WHAT IF THEY
MADE YOU?
I GUESS THAT'S A LITTLE
DIFFERENT, PLAYING
DEVILS ADVOCATE,
PUTTING SOMETHING IN
MY BODY AS OPPOSED TO
WEARING A PIECE OF
FABRIC OVER MY FACE
UH THE GOVT BELIEVES
THEY CAN DO THAT
BUT THAT HAS NEVER
HAPPENED
UH THAT'S MY POINT
THERE'S NO BREAKS ON
THEIR SYSTEM. THEY TELL
YOU TO WEAR A MAKE,
WHAT'S TO STOP THEM
FROM TELLING YOU, FOR
THE SAKE OF THE
COMMUNITY, WE HAVE A
HEALTH EMERGENCY HERE,
YOU NEED TO HAVE A
VACCINE AND THE
PROBLEM IS
IT'S JUST BAD GOVT, IT'S
BAD RESOLUTION, IT'S BAD
POLITICS, BAD LAWS ALL
THE WAY AROUND WE WE
NEED TO BE ABLE TO
MAKE THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN IT'S JUST A
MASK AND TAKING AWAY
MY CIVIL LIBERTIES OF MY
RIGHT TO WORSHIP IN A
PARKING LOT ON
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
THIS
THIS WAS
THIS WAS OBVIOUSLY MORE THAN A RELIGIOUS GATHERING...AND TO BE
CLEAR NOBODY WAS
CITED FOR WORSHIPPING
IN A PARKING LOT.
YOU COULD SAY THEY
GOT THE PUBLICITY THEY
WERE LOOKING FOR.
BUT SINCE IT'S THE FIRST
CITATIONS WE'VE SEEN IN
IDAHO...WE COULDN'T
IGNORE IT.
RENCH AND THE CHURCH
CLAIM THE MASK
MANDATE SHOULD BE
RESCINDED...SINCE LATAH
COUNTY HAS HAD LESS
THAN 350 COVID CASES
AND NO DEATHS.
CITY COUNCIL BELIEVES
THE MASK MANDATE IS
WHY.
THE PSALM SING LASTED
A TOTAL OF ABOUT 15
MINUTES.
BY THE END...THERE WERE
THREE ARRESTS...FIVE
CITATIONS FOR VIOLATING
THE MASK
MANDATE...INCLUDING
TWO OF THOSE PEOPLE
CITED FOR RESISTING AND
OBSTRUCTING.
ALL MISDEMEANORS.
WHEN I ASKED MOSCOW
POLICE WHY THIS
GATHERING WAS
DIFFERENT THAN THE
OTHERS THE CHURCH HAS
ORGANIZED...CHIEF JAMES
FRY TOLD ME LATE THIS
AFTERNOON...THEY
HAVNE'T BEEN TO ANY
OTHER RECENT CHURCH
EVENTS.
AND THEY HAVE BEEN
EDUCATING THE PEOPLE
OF MOSCOW FOR ABOUT
4 AND A HALF MONTHS
ABOUT THE
MANDATE...AND CHIEF FRY
SAID THEY HAVE ABOUT
90-PERCENT COMPLIANCE
ACROSS THE CITY.
BUT AT SOME
POINT...EDUCATION HAS
TO TURN TO
ENFORCEMENT...AND
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED
YESTERDAY.