COLUMBUS, Ohio — A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the house of Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton on Saturday, protesting restrictions the state has placed on residents in accordance to with the advice of health experts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A group of about 25 demonstrators were outside Acton’s home in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, according to Katie Forbes, a photographer who captured images of the scene.
Their mission: to express their deep displeasure at the state’s stay-at-home orders, which Acton signed, and other restrictions on businesses meant to prevent more people from contracting the virus and to not overwhelm emergency rooms. Many have said the economic impact could be worse than the virus itself, a claim with which many experts and officials have repeatedly disagreed.
A group of demonstrators gathered outside the home of Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton on Saturday, protesting the state's restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Katie Forbes with KRForbesPhotography)
Protesters have been a near-ubiquitous presence at Ohio’s Statehouse for the past couple of weeks. Some are armed with long rifles and refuse to stay 6 feet apart from each other and those passing by, as recommended by health experts. The groups have been small but spirited and peppered with signs professing support for President Donald Trump, the anti-vaccination movement and a conspiratorial, prejudiced distrust of Jewish people.
Acton is Jewish.
While receiving significant attention in some corners, multiple polls have made clear that the vast majority of residents in Ohio and the rest of the U.S. are in favor of such restrictions.
Demonstrations at Acton’s house appear to be a relatively new occurrence. The demonstrators on Saturday carried Ohio and U.S. flags. Forbes said.
They protesters were “very conscious to stay on the sidewalk” and Acton’s tree lawn, Forbes said. She did not see anybody step on the health director’s property.
Some held up signs. One said “DR. AMY OVER-RE-ACTON HAIRSTYLISTS ARE ESSENTIAL.” Another said “LET FREEDOM WORK.”
A group of demonstrators gathered outside the home of Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton on Saturday, protesting the state's restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Katie Forbes with KRForbesPhotography)
Still, the group was not shouting on the residential street, and Saturday’s gathering was “not like anything I’d seen at the Statehouse," said Forbes, who has photographed several protests in recent weeks.
Forbes, who runs KRForbes Photography, said about 10 counterprotesters also showed up, many of whom wore face masks. The whole event had a slapdash feel to it, she said.
The protests in Ohio have been smaller than those in Michigan and Virginia, states with Democratic governors where Trump has trained his ire. Gov. Mike DeWine has imposed many restrictions similar to those in states with Democratic leaders, yet has not drawn the same backlash from the president.
There did not appear to be major issues with demonstrators at Acton’s house.
A dispatcher for Bexley police said officers were not called, though Forbes said she saw two police cars on separate sides of the street.
Sgt. Nathan Dennis of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which includes the state’s Executive Protection Unit for security for the governor, lieutenant governor and others, said it was not involved in policing Saturday’s demonstration.
A spokeswoman for the Health Department did not return a phone call.