BONNER COUNTY, Idaho — In northern Idaho, some elected officials and leaders have pushed back against that state's 21-day stay-at-home order, arguing that it is unconstitutional and infringes on religious liberties.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued the stay at home order on March 25, and is scheduled to end on April 15.
The backlash in Idaho did not take long to begin. The following Sunday, state Rep. Tim Remington, who is also a pastor, held two church services. At one point during the service, Remington called the stay at home order “a gimmick.”
On April 2, Idaho State Rep. Heather Scott, released a video statement urging her constituents to openly defy the order.
“It is not the role of government in a free society to tell us what we can and cannot do,” Scott said.
“We have a God-given, constitutional right to peacefully assemble," she said. "That means no one can take that right away from you and you should not be bullied or intimidated to give up your rights.”
The sheriff of Bonner County, Idaho, Daryl Wheeler wrote an open letter to Idaho’s governor on April 2 saying the public had been “misled” by public health officials.
“I do not believe suspending the constitution was wise because COVID-19 is nothing like the plague,” Wheeler said in the letter.
Scott did not return calls from KING 5 requesting an interview. Wheeler and Remington declined interviews. Remington said he had been receiving hate mail since hosting the services. He said the board of the church voted to stream future services.
Idaho resident and far-right activist Ammon Bundy, who led a militia standoff in Oregon in 2016, took to Facebook, where he said he had been working to find a gathering space for hundreds of churchgoers on Easter Sunday in violation of Gov. Little's order.
“Helping a church group have worship services on Easter is an effort to show that these rights belong to the people and not the state,” Bundy said in a Facebook Live stream. “This virus thing will come and go. But what won’t come and go is the loss of our liberties.”
However, messages like Bundy’s, Remington’s and Scott’s have coincided with a recent surge in coronavirus cases in Idaho. According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the number of cases has spiked in the last 20 days, from 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases to over 1,000.
In response to the backlash, a network of healthcare workers in Bonner County, Idaho released a statement.
“We are aware that some would like you to relax and let life return to normal. We wish that were possible," the statement said in part. "Do not doubt the power and contagion of this virus. This is our modern day plague.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said by comparison, Washingtonians appear to largely be following social distancing guidelines, even though it has meant skipping in-person Sunday services.
“We know how important faith is,” Inslee said in a press conference. “We know that it provides comfort and hope, but we also understand it can be a fatal communion and that’s too dangerous right now.”