Idaho anti-maskers force school district office to lock down: report

On Friday, KXLY reported that anti-mask demonstrators in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho forced the city's school district office into lockdown.

"The protesters originally gathered outside of a school board special meeting that was intended to discuss the possibility of implementing a district-wide mask mandate. The meeting was called in response to the rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in North Idaho," reported Erin Robinson. "However, because of the large crowd, the district postponed the meeting just minutes before it was set to start. The district said there were too many people and they wanted to keep them safe. They also had received reports of fights outside."

Idaho has been a hotbed of right-wing opposition to COVID health orders. The state has seen multiple "mask burnings" where parents even brought their children to the events, which one doctor likened to "child abuse."

With the blessing of the local GOP, Central District Health, an agency that oversees care for a third of the state's residents, recently appointed Dr. Ryan Cole, a conspiracy theorist who has called vaccines "needle rape." One Idaho man recently made headlines for threatening to shoot a doctor who wouldn't treat his COVID-infected father-in-law with ivermectin, an unproven drug used as a deworming medication in livestock.

All of this is taking place as COVID rates in Idaho have reached such high levels that some facilities have been authorized to ration care.