CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. – More than 100 people came together in a Campbell County park on Saturday in defiance of Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order on capacity limits.
The rally was organized by the Campbell County Militia after Northam’s order limited gatherings in Virginia to twenty-five people or less.
“These are edicts that have been handed down by decree from one man,” said Wes Gardner of the Campbell County Militia. “You’re killing small business. Small business is not going to put up with it and we’re not going to put up with it.”
The rally also followed a vote from Campbell County’s supervisors not to enforce Northam’s COVID-19 restrictions within the county.
Several politicians addressed the crowd during the rally. Most notably, congressman-elect Bob Good returned to Virginia’s 5th district to speak to his constituents.
“We are here to demand our First Amendment rights to assemble,” Good said. “We will not accept this new normal they tell us we’ve got to get used to. We’ve got to live our lives as free people.”
Campbell County Militia member Kurt Santini said he’s so upset with Northam’s tenure as governor that he will run for governor himself in 2021.
“We are free people, and he’s not letting us gather,” Santini said. “What we’re doing right now is illegal, but we don’t care.”
Gardner hopes the rally will inspire other Virginia counties to do the same until the restrictions are loosened.
“Northam is keeping them under his thumb,” Gardner said. “This is not how America is supposed to operate.”