The Oklahoma Freedom Rally was held Saturday at the state Capitol with many protesting vaccine and mask mandates. Similar events took place in Los Angeles, where protesters marched by the City Hall.
In Oklahoma, many protesters made it inside the Capitol building while hundreds of others waited outside holding mini-rallies.
Those inside the Capitol recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang “America the Beautiful” while they held American flags and anti-mandate signs.
Many protesters commented that they were rallying for the freedom to choose, with one participant saying “I do not want to see us be mandated for masks or vaccines because that is our right to choose what’s best for us”.
In Los Angeles, crowds protested against vaccine mandates and mask mandates, especially for school children. The protest was called the “freedom march against medical tyranny”.
Last month, the county was one of the first to re-implement a mask mandate regardless of vaccine status. California has become the first state to mandate vaccines or weekly testing for employees in schools.
As crowds were gathering in front of City Hal for the protests, a group of counter-protesters appeared nearby. Shortly after, the rally turned violent and one man was stabbed.
The injured man was claimed to be a member of the anti-mask protesters and collapsed in the street where police took care of him until paramedics arrived. Those fighting threw things at one another and counter-protesters were seen spraying mace.
The counter-protesters were allegedly members of Antifa, but they appeared to be people who have recently shown up to oppose anti-vaccine and anti-mask rallies.