More than a thousand rally at Capitol in defiance of Gov. Inslee’s stay-home order

After weeks of eerie quiet in Olympia, thousands noisily converged on the state Capitol Sunday afternoon to protest Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order by defying it.

The rally was not a permitted event — the state Department of Enterprise Services canceled all Capitol Campus events after Inslee ordered the shutdown, and has not granted permits since — so streets were barricaded, but that didn’t stop rally participants from lining downtown and South Capitol neighborhood streets with their cars and hiking into the Capitol Campus.

Others drove up and down Capitol Way, clogging the road, honking, revving their motors, flying American flags and waving banners. and signs.

The event was called “Hazardous Liberty! Defend the Constitution!” and coincided with the 245th anniversary of the “shot heard ‘round the world” — a reference to the opening shot of the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States.

Rally participants are opposed to the stay-at-home order because they say it violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right of the people to peaceably assemble. But many clearly also had more practical concerns, carrying signs that argued that all jobs are “essential” and that they want the governor to allow people to return to work.

Under the governor’s order, only state-determined essential businesses and those that can function remotely are allowed to be open.

This story was originally published April 19, 2020 at 2:03 PM.