SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Video from Sky10 on Friday showed some of the hundreds of people who lined the streets of downtown near the Hall of Justice.
Rally participants came to spread the word that they believe that their constitutional rights are being trampled on and it’s time to re-open San Diego.
The midday rally was sponsored by a grassroots group called We Have Rights which has denounced the shutdown over the pandemic and called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to fully reopen the state.
It was one of several simultaneous rallies across California.
“We can't go on this way. People are losing their jobs. Small businesses can't survive,” said participant Rosanne Hodge.
Participants carried American flags and signs with messages about freedom. There were kids in the crowd. While some people wore masks, others went without them.
“We've been holed up for 40 days and it's not okay,” said participant Susan Kennedy-McClure, adding, “I think if [you’re] healthy [you] need to go back to work. If you're sick, stay home, but there's a group of us that want to go back to work and we're ready.”
“Our detectives have been working with the organizers, there's four separate organizers, over the past week trying to facilitate their first amendment right to demonstrate [and] at the same time balancing the County health code and the Governor's shelter-in-place order,” said San Diego Police Captain Dan Grubbs.
Participants maintained that their intent has been to remain peaceful while protesting. “We have a right to protest and we have the right to free speech and we're doing that. Just because we don't agree with [critics’] opinions doesn’t mean ours don't count and I think we all count for something,” added Kennedy-McClure.
SDPD reported that there were no arrests made and no citations issued.
