FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A group of anti-mask protesters made their thoughts on masks known while marching through a Fort Lauderdale Target.
The group of about 10 people marched through the store at 3200 North Federal Highway on Tuesday.
Protesters initially met in the store’s parking lot.
“Who here is sick and tired of having to wear one of these things every time you go into a store,” said a man. “Now, here is the bottom line: if someone wants to wear a mask going to a grocery store, then let them wear a mask, but how is it that if their mask is working that I have to wear one, too?”
From there, they went into the store where they removed their masks and began playing the song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister while marching through the store shouting at customers telling them to take off their masks.
Dee Snider, the lead singer of Twisted Sister, reacted to the viral video by tweeting, “No, these selfish [expletive] do not have my permission or blessing to use my song for their moronic cause. #cutthe[expletive].”
One shopper at the store the next day voiced his frustration at the protesters.
“I think the world has gone crazy,” said shopper David Peery. “It disgusts me, and I think it’s sad because they don’t care about other people.”
Kelvin Brown said he agrees with the protesters.
“People are not happy because they are forced to wear masks now. It’s not good for you,” he said.
One of the women in the group of protesters was Cristina Gomez, whose comments at a Palm Beach County Commission meeting in June had gone viral.
“You literally cannot mandate somebody to wear a mask, knowing that that mask is killing people. It literally is killing people,” Gomez said in June. “Every single one of you who is obeying the devil’s laws are going to be arrested.”
“I think all of you should be in a psych ward, right the heck now,” Gomez added.
A representative for Target sent 7News a statement that read in part, “Target requires guests to wear masks whenever they’re shopping in our stores … We’re aware of the group of guests who came into the store last night, and we asked them to leave after they removed their masks and became disruptive and rude to shoppers.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning that scientific evidence shows that face masks are the best defense we have against COVID-19.
“Face masks are the most important powerful public health tool we have against, and I will continue to appeal for all Americans, all individuals in our country to embrace these face coverings,” Dr. Robert Redfield said. “I’ve said it, if we did it for six, eight, 10, 12 weeks we’d bring this pandemic under control.”
Broward County has since fined the Target store $1,000 and two of the demonstrators that were identified have been fined $100 each.
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