The arrest of an Idaho mother of four who wouldn't leave a playground and was subsequently handcuffed in front of her children has set off protests by demonstrators angered by Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s “stay at home” order.
Sara Walton Brady, 40, of Meridian, was demonstrating as part of a rally organized by the Idaho Freedom Foundation in opposition to the stay-at-home order at Kleiner Park. She was approached by police and ordered to leave the playground. She refused and was arrested.
She was booked into the Ada County Jail on a single count of misdemeanor trespassing, while other protesters videotaped the arrest. Fox News reported that Fox reported that Brady was booked into the local jail around 5 p.m. on Tuesday and has since been bailed out.
Brady, married to Boise police detective Tim Brady, joined a protest of about 100 people when she was released from jail, the Daily Mail reported.
Brady said, “I feel like I was singled out because I was the only person that was arrested. I do feel like I was singled out and maybe it was because I asked too many questions.”
The protesters had removed caution tape and metal signs advising that the playground was closed.
In a statement, the Meridian Police Department said: "These are very trying times and the Meridian Police Department supports the public’s right to assemble for peaceful protest. However, the right does not include damaging public property or ignoring closures of city property and facilities.”
It is not Brady’s first protest – she is a founder of Idahoans for Vaccine Freedom and demanded an apology from officials when her son was denied admission to a kindergarten because he was not immunized.
Brady’s arrest bears some similarities to that of Christa Thompson of Rathdrum, charged by police with a misdemeanor for violating Governor Little’s order by holding a yard sale.
Protest momentum is picking up in Idaho, as over 1,000 protesters marched on the Idaho Statehouse on Friday after Little extended the stay-at-home order until April 30.
According to Fox News, the Idaho Freedom Foundation said the park protest was planned. The group has an ongoing list of places they plan on demonstrating in protest against the state's stay-at-home order.
Idaho had close to 1,800 coronavirus cases and at least 48 deaths from the virus as of Wednesday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
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