Anti-Mask Protesters Harass Students, Parents Outside Schools

SANTA MONICA, CA — A group of anti-mask protesters stood outside Santa Monica schools Monday, harassing students and parents just outside the campus.

"You're not supposed to talk to other people's children, OK?" One father, who confronted the group outside the school said. "You're walking around a school. Creepy."

He told them to stay away from kids at John Adams Middle School and Will Rogers Elementary. A woman confronted the group and described losing three loved ones to the coronavirus. Another man walking his dog told the group to get out of his neighborhood. Students even told them to go away.

Some parents tried to talk to the protesters, including Dr. Blaine Pope, who works in public health. But when the protesters compared mask-wearing to slavery he and his daughter, who are Black, disagreed.

It was all captured on video by Samuel Braslow of the Beverly Hills Courier.

A parent confronts the anti-mask protesters over approaching his son. He tells them they shouldn’t talk to other people’s children. pic.twitter.com/1Jd2A2tBUM
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 3, 2021

A woman tells a protester that she has lost 3 family members to covid. The anti-masker says “it probably wasn’t even Covid that killed them.“ pic.twitter.com/GU2EmFVofa
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 3, 2021

A man walking a dog yells at the protesters to “get the fuck out of my neighborhood.” pic.twitter.com/DjqlZ4ea2R
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 3, 2021

The protesters get into a conversation with a girl and her father, Dr. Blaine Pope, who works (it turns out) in public health. They say they shouldn’t be made to wear masks; Dr. Pope says they are missing the “public” part of “public health.” pic.twitter.com/RijfUIeL80
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 3, 2021

As tensions mounted, a group of seniors decided to stage a counter-protest, shouting "Krusty Krab is unfair," an ode to the animated series "Spongebob Squarepants." They even had a student who dressed like Squidward.

A group of Santa Monica High seniors mount a counter protest…to protest labor conditions at the Krusty Crab? They are soon joined by Squidward. pic.twitter.com/ezHI0wx7EJ
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 3, 2021

“Krusty Krab Unfair” and “Valet Parking” among the counter protesters’ signs pic.twitter.com/TgL8TRNRYx
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 3, 2021

Patch reached out to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified District officials about the incident.

"These protests are not related to SMMUSD, and we don't believe they are targeted toward SMMUSD," a district spokesperson told Patch. "We follow the guidance by the LA County Department of Public Health with regard to mask-wearing."

The protesters and coordinator appear to not live in the area and it's unclear why they chose the area near the schools to protest at.

Following the protest outside the schools, the anti-mask protesters then moved on to Supervisor Sheila Kuehl's home in Santa Monica, where Kuehl told them they had crossed a line after making bizarre comparisons to the HIV-AIDS crisis.

“You are really crossing a line now. How many people did you lose to AIDS?” she said.

BREAKING: County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl confronts anti-masker protesters at her home in Santa Monica. When one protester says that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS, Khuel takes a step forward and points a finger. “You are really crossing a line now. How many people did you lose to AIDS?” pic.twitter.com/wYeG2DMFIK
— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) May 4, 2021

The protests Monday in Santa Monica follow a series of anti-mask protests throughout the Los Angeles area, including a recent protest outside a Beverly Hills Sephora and another last week at a Santa Monica childhood development center. Last week, an anti-mask group protested outside Hawthorne Elementary School in Beverly Hills.

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