A group of masked protesters temporarily shut down a Joe’s in Fresno.
Although scientific evidence – and guidance from local, state and federal officials – supports the importance of wearing masks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Burn the Mask protesters blocked the entrance to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon. The store consequently chose to close early. It was not closed by police, as some have wrongly claimed on social media.
In a video posted on social media, one protester can read a list of reasons why Trader Joe’s, a private company, should serve him despite his refusal to wear a mask. While arguing close and unmasked with a masked Trader Joe’s employee, he is applauded by a group of fans, who have filmed a lot on their phones. The protesters then started writing down the names of the employees based on their name tags. The man claims that they will be ‘legally prosecuted’ because they are barred from entering the store, to which an employee says ‘OK’ while locking the door on them.
The man cites the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as proof that he is being discriminated against, a common point of contention for anti-maskers. Title II of the Act reads: “All persons are entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, benefits and accommodation of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation. land of race, color, religion or national origin. ‘
Most legal experts say that the requirement of a mask during a global health crisis is not part of this law, as the mask mandate applies to all people rather than to specific individuals.
Despite frequent claims by anti-maskers that mask wear violates their civil liberties, there is little constitutional ground for this. Mask mandates are unlikely to violate the First Amendment because wearing a mask does not impede the ability to express oneself freely. In addition, private companies may apply myriad rules, such as the requirement to wear shoes or shirts, to enter their stores. And courts have ruled as recently as last year that individuals do not have the right to ignore public health requirements.
A lawsuit has a lawsuit filed in Florida last year alleging that the mask mandate impedes “personal liberty and constitutional rights.”
“No constitutional right is infringed on the mandate of the Mask Ordinance … and that the requirement to wear such a cover has a clear rational basis based on the protection of public health,” the court ruled.
“Constitutional rights and the ideals of a limited government do not allow (citizens) to avoid their social obligation to their fellow Americans or society as a whole.” … After all, we do not have a constitutional right to protect others not infected. “
The main protester can be seen on the video saying he intends to file a case with the Department of Justice against the Fresno Trader Joes, and he is asking ‘witnesses’ to help him.
“We are also filing a notice against the other man, I do not know what his surname is,” he said, referring to an employee who spoke to him earlier.
The Fresno police station confirmed to the Fresno Bee that the police did respond to reports of a disturbance, but no arrests were made.