Anti-vaxx rally - latest: Outrage at RFK Jr Holocaust comments at vaccine mandate opponents gathering in DC
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Covid-19 vaccine mandate opponents gathered today for a march in Washington, DC in an event organisers called “Defeat the Mandates: An American Homecoming”.
Among those marching are firefighters, teachers, first responders, and other groups, who congregated on the National Mall from 10.30am local time. At 11.30am they began walking from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.
Speeches included remarks from anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr, controversial doctor Robert Malone, and TV producer Del Bigtree, CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network.
Mr Kennedy’s comparison of vaccines to the Holocaust caused outrage online with the Auschwitz Memorial labelling such exploitative language as “a sad symptom of moral and intellectual decay”. Mr Bigtree’s rhetoric promising a Nuremberg trial for medical professionals and the press received a similar backlash from a survivor of The Capitol Gazette attack.
The event was billed as a gathering of those who oppose vaccine mandates, vaccines for children, and other pandemic requirements and restrictions, but most of the speakers are prominently against the vaccine itself.
A permit filed with the National Park Service states that the march could attract as many as 20,000 people, but numbers were much lower than anticipated.
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Crowd appears smaller than anticipated
Those on the ground appear to confirm that the crowd is perhaps smaller than organisers were hoping for. USA Today’s Ella Lee posted this photo from the back.
Speakers rail against vaccine
While the organisers insist the spirit of today is about being against vaccine mandates, all of the speakers have railed against the vaccine itself claiming various side effects and long-term damage, especially in children. There is no evidence to back up their claims.
Latest US Covid data
For context, as of today, there have been more than 70.5 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US.
More than 865,000 Americans are officially recorded as having died from the virus.
Worldwide, there have been just under 350 million cases and 5.59 million deaths.
RFK Jr gives conspiracy-laced speech
Robert F Kennedy Jr, one of the most anticipated speakers of the day, gave a conspiracy-laced speech that ranged from questioning the testing and safety of the vaccines to calling big pharma “criminal companies” and “serial felony offenders”. He also railed against Bill Gates, satellites, and 5G technology at one point.
“Every power they take from us, they will ultimately abuse to the maximum extent possible...” he told the crowd.
“Nobody in history on the planet has ever complied their way out of totalitarian control.”
‘Those who overthrow the constitution, we’re coming for you'
Del Bigtree, the TV producer CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network, promised that “those who overthrow the constitution, we’re coming for you”.
He also claimed that he wanted to put Dr Anthony Fauci and other medical experts on trial in addition to members of the media for disseminating information about the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Bigtree referred to the unmasked crowd as “superspreaders of truth” and told them to “rise up”.
Smaller crowd than expected
A smaller crowd than expected arrived in Washington, DC to protest vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions.
A permit issued by the National Park Service revealed that the rally organisers thought that as many as 20,000 people would attend, but The Washington Post estimated that a group of several thousand had made it to the National Mall by Sunday afternoon.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC.
Smaller crowd than expected protests vaccine mandates in Washington DC
A smaller crowd than expected arrived in Washington, DC to protest vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions.
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Gino Spocchia reports.
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Rally draws to a close
Shortly after Del Bigtree finished speaking, the sound system appeared to cut out.
According to an earlier announcement, power to the microphones would be cut at 3.30pm sharp, and so there was a rush to get several speakers on stage ahead of that deadline — presumably due to permitting at the site.
After 3.30pm a loudhailer was brought out in an attempt to continue, but livestreams and much of the crowd appeared unable to hear what was being said. Before the video feed ended, those at the back of the crowd began to drift away.
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