PENDLETON — A group of about 30 residents stood maskless and well within 6 feet of one another outside the Umatilla County Courthouse in Pendleton on Wednesday, Aug. 5, to protest Gov. Kate Brown’s decision to move the county back to the baseline of reopening.

Among the protesters’ concerns were the beliefs Brown’s decision was politically motivated, will cause long-term economic damage, and that the state’s mandates to address the spread of COVID-19 are unconstitutional.

“It’s punitive. She’s picked on Umatilla County because our commissioners were willing to stand up and speak up,” said 73-year-old protester Stuart Dick, referencing the county commissioners’ earlier appeals to Brown not to reinstate business closures. “This is going to devastate Pendleton. It’s going to destroy the economy.”

The fired-up group of protesters didn’t waste time on subtlety.

The protest started at Til Taylor Park at 9:30 a.m. and proceeded to the Umatilla County Courthouse, where inside commissioners conducted their biweekly board meeting.

As they walked, protesters let fly their feelings about coronavirus restrictions, masks and Brown, who got the brunt of the rancor. One woman waved a sign saying “F*** Kate Brown.” Another sign proclaimed, “My governor is an idiot.” The protesters yelled a barrage of slogans, such as “Take down Kate Brown,” “COVID is a scam,” “We reject the masks,” “What’s a false positive?” and “All the rules are lies.”

Masked-up members of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office stood at the main entrance of the courthouse and watched impassively as protesters walked around the building several times. Marchers, led by Umatilla County Commissioner candidate HollyJo Beers, paused regularly to turn their signage toward passing motorists. The assemblage drew honks and whoops from some and icy stares and looks of consternation from others.

As some protesters urged passersby to “Recall Kate Brown,” one man in a truck yelled, “Or just shoot her,” which drew disapproval from at least one protester. A masked woman shook her head as she made her way around the protesters and entered the courthouse.

Beers organized the protest in both a response to Brown, who she’s actively been working to recall from office, and the commissioners, who she said should instead be promoting personal choice for businesses and individuals.

“I think she was being vindictive when she took us all the way clear to the bottom again,” she said. “But (the commissioners) didn’t stand by their word and they didn’t follow through.”

Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said the commissioners were aware people wanted them to defy Brown’s orders, but that it was never seriously considered. He said their priorities are instead to protect residents’ health and safety, return to Phase 2 as fast as possible and secure more financial assistance for small businesses in the meantime.

“Frankly, I think that defying the order and getting into a tangle with Salem would be counterproductive to what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.

In addition to falsely claiming the government’s actions to reduce virus spread are unconstitutional, Beers expressed doubts about the validity of the numbers being reported and dismissed the number of deaths associated with the virus as an acceptable part of life.

“Nobody wants anybody to die,” Beers said. “Everybody knows people are dying and people can be carriers, but you can’t stop life because people might die. That’s an everyday fact.”