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Massachusetts residents launched a “Liberty Rally” in front of the State House to protest the governor’s stay-at-home order and demand he reopen the state for business.

Hundreds gathered outside of the Massachusetts State House on Monday to demand Gov. Charlie Baker reopen the economy and end the restrictions placed in the state due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Carrying signs with phrases such as “End the shutdown” and “Tyranny is not leadership,” fed up protesters gathered with and without masks to push back on the Republican governor’s handling of the pandemic in his state.

Lockdown-weary residents were angry over the state’s stay-at-home order which Baker extended until May 18, keeping nonessential businesses closed and social distancing guidelines in effect. Baker also implemented a new order that goes into effect Wednesday requiring Massachusetts residents to wear masks in public.

#BREAKING Protesters taking to the streets outside of the Massachusetts State House calling for the Governor to reopen the state, protesting the stay at home advisory. Some also appear to be protesting the mask mandate that takes effect on Wednesday #7News pic.twitter.com/hRHMopJlcB

— Mike Fahey (@michaelefahey) May 4, 2020

The rally, organized by conservative local radio host Jeffrey Kuhner, brought hundreds of demonstrators to the area and led police to temporarily shut down a portion of Beacon Street.

Directed at @CharlieBakerMA and @marty_walsh: “We’re tired of your BS. We’re tired of your lies. We’re tired of you acting like wanna-be dictators … We don’t want your shutdown anymore!”

Note: Polls have shown vast majority of ppl back Baker’s actions/restrictions in pandemic pic.twitter.com/EBudEAZ9L0

— Matt Stout (@MattPStout) May 4, 2020

Here’s a time-lapse of the crowd outside the State house right now where several hundred have gathered to protest Gov. Baker’s mask mandate that takes effect Wednesday #mapoli @bostonherald pic.twitter.com/lpafXz8zlw

— Erin Tiernan (@ErinTiernan) May 4, 2020

“We’re tired of your BS. We’re tired of your lies. We’re tired of you acting like wanna-be dictators,” some in the crowd shouted. “We don’t want your shutdown anymore!”

Cheers of “USA, USA” rip through the crowd #mapoli @bostonherald pic.twitter.com/NFn3cyENJD

— Erin Tiernan (@ErinTiernan) May 4, 2020

A phased reopening of the state seems still a ways off and, as Baker noted earlier Monday, the planned reopening date of May 18 will not mean everything will be operational at once.

“There won’t be anyone firing a starting gun on May 18, saying, ‘Everybody is off to the races.’ But we do hope that certain types of businesses and workplaces will be able to begin resuming operations under the guidelines established through this process,” Baker said.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Massachusetts Statehouse on Monday calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to lift his declaration of a state of emergency and stay-at-home advisory aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/RPrpOdA5aS

— TIME (@TIME) May 5, 2020

Massachusetts has seen over 69,000 COVID-19 cases and over 4,000 deaths related to the pandemic as of Monday, according to Boston.com.

“We’re planning for what a reopening phase will look like, but we’re not at a point where we can begin to reopen,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said. “We all need to stay the course right now so that we can keep saving lives.”

End the Lockdown Protest outside Massachusetts State House today is absolutely amazing!!! pic.twitter.com/kzJG6cwH4o

— EasternRider12 (@EasternRider12) May 5, 2020

The governor’s Reopening Advisory Board is reportedly speaking with experts about the May 18 reopening plan as he announced last week the extension of the state’s stay-at-home order.

“We do believe and buy into the guidance that we’ve gotten from experts in the field that you need to see downward trends in a number of key indices associated with this virus for some period of time before you can actually reopen, and that’s the reason why we created the reopening task force,” Baker had said, adding that “after a really long time of not seeing much positive traction at all with regard to those measures, in the course of the past few days, we’ve actually started to see some positive downward trends.”

IMAGES: Largest ‘Re-open Massachusetts’ protest yet outside of the State House today. #7news #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/4jroy0MDQG

— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) May 4, 2020

“Americans are suffering due to the unprecedented economic shutdown imposed by the government as a response to COVID-19,” the website for the rally said.

“The politicians, bureaucrats, and media remain gainfully employed while they callously dismiss concerns about the impact their decisions have upon our jobs, wages, and well-being,” the website added. “We are calling upon the citizens of our state to come out in force on May 4th to demand that the Governor and his minions let the people get back to work. It’s time to re-open Massachusetts and restore liberty.”

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Frieda Powers

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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