The event was hosted by Freedom Angels on Nov. 28 at the State Capitol. Among the attendees was Mayor Paul Creighton of Atwater, California, which is about 100 miles from Sacramento. He said it’s a shame many businesses, including restaurants, have been impacted by increased restrictions again.
“For restaurants, they bought more food—thousands and thousands of dollars of food—then nobody communicates to the businesses that they’re going to be moved back into the different-colored tier [in the state’s COVID-19 monitoring system]. They can’t afford that. Three thousand dollars a month of rent on a restaurant, $5,000 of food being thrown out—it’s devastating. There’s no clear direction they’re getting,” Creighton said.
He urged people to reach out to their city councilmembers to push for resolutions for safe reopening. He thinks small businesses should be allowed to open like the big ones.
“Walmart, Costco, Target—they’re allowed to open. But if you own a small business, or a small store, you’re closed down under this colored-tier program the governor has. And it’s not fair,” he said.
“If you own a small business, you’re able to provide for yourself throughout the pandemic. When you get your business locked down, you are not allowed to work, but yet the big box stores are.”
Ellen Lee Zhou, who ran for Mayor of San Francisco in 2019, helped audit elections this year.
“Before December 14, 2020, all the states will be certified for the election results. So we are calling to stop certification because of ... lawlessness, election fraud with dead people voting, extra votes,” she said.
Steven Milani, a Solano County resident, said he was at the rally to raise awareness about government control.
“So many people get caught up in the conversation as to whether or not the mask is effective,” Milani said. “Nobody is getting caught up in the conversation as to whether or not somebody else has the right to tell you to wear a mask. It’s not about the effectiveness. It’s about sovereignty. And where are we going to draw the line in the sand?”
Thankful for Freedom
Sherwood Haisty Jr., who ran for California’s 6th Congressional District in the spring primary, told The Epoch Times that he supports President Trump’s policies and conservative values.“[The] Declaration of Independence says we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are endowed by their Creator ... with certain inalienable rights—among these [are] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ... I thank God for the country that I was allowed to be born in, the country that maybe others have been able to immigrate to, and the freedoms that we have.”
Annette Biggers was the still-photographer for a recent film titled “The Trump I Know.” She attended the protest to end the lockdown and to show her support for the president.
“I can’t stay home and not do anything. He [Trump] gave up everything that he is, his wealth, his reputation. He sacrificed his family, he sacrificed it all for us, so why shouldn’t we come and represent him? He’s for the people, so why shouldn’t we show him the support and love in return?”
Walkaways
Tracy Cumming is a Sacramento resident who walked away from the Democratic Party in April this year.“I hated Trump when he was elected. I was brainwashed from the media. And then I started watching our president unfiltered from the media, and I realized he was very presidential, very compassionate towards the people,“ Cumming told The Epoch Times. ”I decided I couldn’t be a Democrat anymore and became a Republican, joined the #Walkaway [movement], and now I just love Trump. I just love what he’s done for us.”
Tasha Bloom, also a Sacramento resident and former Democrat, doesn’t agree with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders in response to COVID-19 and now supports the Republican president.
“I’m here because I feel that it wasn’t a free and fair election, and I also feel that Gavin Newsom, our governor, is trying to take away our ... rights. I feel that mandates and laws shouldn’t override [constitutional] amendments,“ she told The Epoch Times. ”I do not feel that the election was fair, and I feel that if Joe Biden ultimately takes it ... it was fraudulent. Then America will change not for the better, but for a negative way.”
In the past, she occasionally voted Republican, but this year she registered as a Republican.
“This whole country was built on freedom. We fought for it. We are one of the few countries that have the liberty and the freedoms and the amendments that we have. And I feel that that’s slowly dying out. And we have to fight for that,” Bloom said. “If anyone would have told me that that would be in jeopardy, I would have never believed them. But the more years that go by, I feel the more people will come up with more things that go against the country. So a lot of people that live here, I feel, don’t appreciate it and actually hate the country.”
She said she wants to ensure that the election was fair and that “if we lose, we lose—but ultimately I need to know that we actually lost.”
