More Than 1,000 Gather at Colorado Racetrack to Protest Governor’s Coronavirus Orders

More than 1,000 people attended a rally at the Bandimere Speedway outside of Lakewood, Colorado, to protest the Governor’s coronavirus orders. According to a press release from The Hill, the rally is an expression of “our God-given right to demand a stop to the COVID Chaos Governor Polis has inflicted upon all of us with his Executive Orders and Public Health Orders.” A lawsuit was filed against the racetrack by the Jefferson County Public Health office, but a judge ruled an injunction couldn’t be legally filed.

“People have a right to express their opinions and grievances, and we fully respect freedom of speech and expression,” a spokeswoman for the department said. She then said the department is concerned about “public health and safety.” The rally, which was called Stop the COVID Chaos, was not approved by officials. Per the guidelines, gatherings of more than 175 people need to have approval from the Jefferson County Public Health office.

This rally comes as Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville and conservative activist Michelle Malkin filed a lawsuit last week alleging the governor’s COVID measures “violated the separation of powers requiring laws to be passed by the legislature.”

“The essence of Petitioners’ Complaint is that the chief executive by executive order is purportedly making new laws and implementing new public policies which wholly usurp the power of the legislative department to make the laws, a power which has been delegated by the People through their Colorado Constitution exclusively to the legislative department,” the court documents said via The Hill.

This event isn’t the first time a racetrack has been used for a “protest.” In June, fans got together at Ace Speedway in North Carolina for an event which was called “peaceful protest of injustice and inequality everywhere.” That didn’t sit well with Governor Roy Cooper.

“Ace Speedway has continuously and flagrantly violated the plain and unambiguous language of the Phase Two order,” Cooper’s office said in a letter to Alamance County officials at the time. “Those violations pose a serious risk to the health and people of Alamance County and throughout the state.”