Conservative GOP's RivCo Protest To Denounce CA Health Protocols

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — In the same week that state officials unveiled figures showing that Riverside County's coronavirus figures were worsening, several thousand people are expected to gather in Hemet Saturday to hear elected officials and others call for an end to public health closures and protest what they contend are unchecked and unconstitutional powers being exercised by the governor.

The "Open California Now" demonstration is planned for 10:30 a.m. on the lawn and parking lot outside the Dwelling Place Church, 27100 Girard St. A similar assemblage in Murrieta on July 18 drew more than 2,000 people, according to John Berry of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, one of the groups supporting the protest.

"Recent mandates that prohibit the American Dream and pursuit of happiness for small business owners need to be stopped," according to a statement by the Redeeming America Tour, a sponsor of the Open California Now rallies. "When our God-given rights are being threatened and those who secure our freedoms lives are placed in jeopardy, it is our right and responsibility to take ACTION. Governments only exist to secure our rights. If any government becomes destructive of our rights, it is our duty to resist them and urge them to redress our grievances by all peaceful and lawful means, including in the courts."

Among the slate of speakers for the Hemet protest, which must be designated as such to qualify for First Amendment protection because of the state's COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, are Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore; Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco; Sen. Mike Morrell, R- Menifee; Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner; and Riverside County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Joseph DelGuidice.

District Attorney Mike Hestrin told City News Service he cannot attend because he's away on business, and DelGuidice offered to stand in his stead.

Charlie Kirk, an evangelical Christian who has been criticized for spreading false conspiracy theories, is billed as a featured speaker at Saturday's event. Kirk’s nonprofit Turning Point USA made recent headlines after ProPublica published an article about its investigation into the organization's "questionable financial arrangements."

Melendez and Morrell are expected to spotlight what they have described as Gov. Gavin Newsom's misuse of emergency powers and over-reaching health regulations.

Earlier this year, Melendez proposed that the Legislature vote to end or place limits on the governor's emergency powers, but the measure failed to gain traction.

Newsom has argued that he's acting in the interest of public welfare amid ongoing threats from the coronavirus contagion. He said the COVID-19 case numbers and science — not politics — will dictate the state's reopening plans.

When he announced a four-tier, color-coded system for guiding reopenings in late August, Newsom said he wanted to take a slower, more stringent approach to avoid a surge in cases.

"COVID-19 will be with us for a long time and we need to adapt," Newsom said at the time. "... We must deal with this reality and this fundamental truth until there is a vaccine, until we have the kind of therapeutics that could substantially mitigate the spread and the impact of COVID-19, that we will simply need to adapt our behaviors until that time."

A petition seeking Newsom's recall will be circulated at Saturday's rally, where speakers will also address the recent Michigan Supreme Court decision striking down the bulk of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID-19 emergency edicts and how that factors into a lawsuit challenging Newsom's authority.

In the Whitmer case, however, party lines differ from that in California. The Democratic Michigan governor extended the state's coronavirus emergency declaration by executive order April 30 after the Republican-controlled Legislature advanced a bill that would not have renewed her original declaration. Additionally, the 4-3 Supreme Court court decision was led by Republican-nominated justices Stephen Markman, Brian Zahra, David Viviano and Beth Clement who formed the majority.

During the Hemet event, speakers are also expected to detail the public health regulatory impacts on small businesses, some of which have closed permanently.

"It is time for us as American citizens to stand up for our rights before they disappear before our eyes," said co-organizer Sarah Stephens. "If we gather together ... we can save California and save lives. If we can open our businesses, schools and churches, California can come back to life, and thousands, if not millions, of lives will be saved."

Riverside County schools are currently allowed to reopen under the state's tiered framework, and many school districts have announced their reopening plans. Places of worship may also welcome congregants indoors at 25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is greater. Health officials have argued that if a virus outbreak occurs, contact tracing is easier when the gathering is smaller.

Other businesses, services, entertainment and recreation sectors currently allowed to reopen in Riverside County with some modifications include hair salons, barbershops, retail, restaurants, critical infrastructure, playgrounds, outdoor recreational facilities, shopping centers, swap meets, nail salons, personal care, museums, zoos, aquariums, movie theaters, hotels, wineries, gyms, sports venues, card rooms, and family entertainment centers.

Bars remain closed countywide, and where possible, the state encourages businesses with office workers to allow those employees to telecommute.

On Tuesday, health officials warned that Riverside County is at risk of being moved back into the purple tier of the state's coronavirus regulation framework because of an upturn in positive cases.

The state's color-coded tier system relies on testing thresholds, case positivity rates and "equity" metrics to determine how a county should be classified. Riverside County moved out of the most restrictive purple tier and into the less restrictive red tier last month.

The red tier allows for some indoor businesses to resume operations with limited capacities. More information is available at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/.

According to the CDPH data released Tuesday, the county now has a COVID-19 per-day case count of 8.1 per 100,000 people, but that has been adjusted to 9.2 per 100,000 because testing thresholds are below what the state prefers. Generally, a jurisdiction must fall below a daily count of 7 per 100,000 to qualify for the red tier.

On the other hand, the county's testing positivity rate is 5.9 percent, which is within the red tier criteria.

On Oct. 20, the county will learn whether it may remain in the red tier or fall back into the purple tier.

The concept of breaking with the state and taking an independent approach to reopening the local economy was tested Oct. 6 during a Riverside County Board of Supervisor's meeting. Rather than go it alone, the board voted 4-1 to work with the state and get further clarity on Supervisor Jeff Hewitt's independent plan. As part of the vote, the supervisors also deleted from Hewitt's plan any target dates for reopening. Hewitt was the lone dissenter in the vote.

According to the Riverside County Executive Office, the county could stand to lose $114 million in allocations due from the state if it took an independent path.

"I believe that the vote today keeps Riverside County on a positive course, as we continue our responsibility to the public health of our residents," Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said following the Oct. 6 vote. "As a county, we do not have the authority or the jurisdiction to move into different phases of reopening without the state's approval. Today, we prevented what could have been a self inflicted injury. Moving forward, we will continue to work with the state government, as we are doing in support of our hospitality and tourism industry when it comes to meetings."

The latest coronavirus figures released Friday by Riverside University Health System show 159 newly confirmed cases and one additional hospitalization related to the virus countywide.

The total number of COVID-19 infections recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March is 63,284, compared to 63,125 on Thursday, according to the RUHS. The total number of verified patient recoveries is 57,394.

The death toll remains unchanged at 1,269.

RUHS figures show 148 people are hospitalized for virus-related treatment, one more than the day before. That number includes 44 intensive care unit patients, two more than Thursday.

—City News Service contributed to this report.