Jim Jordan to Fauci: 'Should the government limit the protesting?'

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) pushed America’s top epidemiologist on Friday to call for government limits on protesting.

At a hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, urged Americans to avoid crowding together without masks on, to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Jordan, who has repeatedly suggested that mostly peaceful protesters demanding an end to systemic racism and police violence are a public menace, then unsuccessfully pressed Fauci to endorse government limits on protesting.

He also complained that some states have limited large in-person gatherings at churches.

Research has shown that the outdoor anti-racism protests — at which protesters have mostly worn masks — have not been a significant factor in the recent uptick in coronavirus cases.

From a hearing on July 31:

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: Crowding together, particularly when you’re not wearing a mask, contributes to the spread of the visit.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Should we limit the protesting?

FAUCI: I’m not sure what you mean should… how do we say limit the protesting?

JORDAN: Should the government limit the protesting?

FAUCI: I don’t think that’s relevant to…

JORDAN: Well, you just said if it increases the spread of the virus—I’m just asking should we limit it?

FAUCI: Well, I’m not in a position to determine what the government can do in a forceful way.

JORDAN: Well, you make all kinds of recommendations. You make comments on dating, on baseball, on everything you can imagine. I’m just asking — you just said protests increase the spread. I’m just asking, should we try to limit the protesting?

FAUCI: I think I will leave that to people who have more a position to do that.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.