Syracuse, N.Y. — About 200 people rallied against Covid-19 vaccine mandates on Saturday in downtown Syracuse.
People came from Northern New York and Central New York for the rally in Clinton Square.
The rally was organized by Nicole Pruett, the creator of a local group named CNY Informed.
Pruett labeled the rally a “Worldwide Freedom Revival” and told those at the rally that they were rallying against “governmental overreach.” She said the government’s goal is to “infiltrate our minds with evil.”
Vaccine mandates have approval from the majority of Americans. According to a recent Gallup poll, more than 60 percent of Americans support having to show proof of vaccination to fly and more than 50 percent of Americans support mandates for people planning to stay in a hotel, eat out, go to work or attend events with large crowds.
Several people at the rally wore T-shirts that read “Make Orwell fiction again.” One person held up a sign that read “Fear is the real virus,” downplaying the novel coronavirus which has killed more than 670,000 in the United States.
While many decried government overreach, at least one speaker said he was a former pharmacist who was fired for refusing to give the vaccine to people. His speech lasted well over 20 minutes and included several conspiracy theories that have been disproven by fact-checking outlets.