Several hundred protesters gathered outside the state Capitol in Nashville on Sunday afternoon in response to the state’s stay-at-home order, mirroring similar protests displayed across the nation.
Many in the crowd carried American flags as well homemade and manufactured signs displaying slogans like “Get us back to work!” and "Shutdowns kill too!" Gadsden flags and Trump flags made appearances as well, as did signs with conspiracy-tinged ("Liar's Number's Are Fake") and anti-science ("Natural immunity over medical inventions") messages. Chants from the crowd included “We are essential” and “Tell Bill I need a haircut!”
In open defiance of both CDC guidelines and state orders promoting social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, crowds gathered on either side of Dr. M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard on a block near Legislative Plaza under gray skies and light rain. The "Nashville Freedom Rally" organized by the #FreeTN Facebook group was specifically in response to Gov. Bill Lee’s recent extension of the state's stay-at-home order. The order was issued on April 2 and set to expire on April 14, but has now been pushed to the end of the month.
The group was cheered on by honks, screams and more signs and flags from dozens of passing cars — as well as a burnout-performing motorcycle — that continuously circled the block in a procession that caused what was likely the only traffic jam in Nashville on Sunday.
A handful of Tennessee State Troopers perched on the balcony of the Capitol overlooking the scene, while others patrolled the streets surrounding the crowd of peaceful protestors. While similar demonstrations across the country have seen protestors armed with rifles, Nashville saw fewer open-carrying attendees, though some demonstrators carried holstered pistols.
Nashville resident Kimberly Edwards organized the event, which was held in conjunction with gatherings in Chattanooga, Jackson, Knoxville and Memphis.
“We are all here for one reason, and it’s our rights,” Edwards told the crowd. “And I just want to remind us that that doesn’t stop when the shutdown ends. It’s not just the shutdown, it’s the 18 months, the social distancing as a ‘new way of life.’ That’s not my way of life. Is that your way of life?”
Peppered throughout the crowd were conversations, signs and T-shirts questioning the facts and the extent of the public health crisis. Some attendees pedaled conspiracy theories involving Bill Gates, the World Health Organization and more. Elsewhere in Nashville on Sunday, the Nashville Party Wagon appeared pushing similar unproven conspiracy theories.
While the protestors' dissatisfaction with the current national emergency are shared with many throughout the state and country, it remains to be seen whether the demonstrations will have any impact on the governor's timeline for relaxing restrictions. The gatherings do, however, flout the CDC's guidelines for social distancing and isolation, therefore putting attendees and those exposed to them at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
The group is planning on a similar demonstration at the state capitol on April 27.
See our full slideshow of Sunday's demonstration here.
