Oregon Governor Criticized for Telling Citizens to Report Neighbors Violating Thanksgiving Rules

ROSEBURG, OR - OCTOBER 02: Oregon governor Kate Brown speaks to the press about the mass s
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Gov. Kate Brown (D-OR) is experiencing backlash for saying people should call police on people who violate the state’s coronavirus restrictions on Thanksgiving.

“This is a travesty that’s happening in our state,” Tootie Smith, chair of Clackamas County, said Wednesday in reaction to the ordinance announced on November 17:

How dare Governor Brown think she’s going to come out, she’s going to send the police into people’s homes and arrest them and fine them for having a Thanksgiving meal with their family, while at [the] same time she lets rioters and anarchists destroy downtown in the city of Portland. That’s hypocrisy.

“We don’t need to be treated as second-rate slaves in our own homes,” she continued.

The restrictions forbid gatherings of more than six people inside one home and violators could face fines of up to $1,250 and possible jail time, according to the Daily Wire.

“This is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake,” the governor said during an interview on Friday with KGW.

“What do neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy. This is just like that. It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance,” she explained:

However, after Brown said in a tweet Monday that doctors, nurses, and physician assistants are saying Thanksgiving gatherings would be “dangerous and irresponsible,” Twitter users expressed their opinions on the matter.

“What is your response to the Protests and Riots? Will you give Law Enforcement authority to enforce with them? Be consistent Queen Brown,” one person replied.

“No one tells me what I can or can’t do…..life is about choices, I do whatever the hell I want, the wall went down in 1989 along with the Gestapo…..no snitches here,” another commented.

In a tweet on Sunday, Smith shared a press release from law enforcement agencies and noted that “OREGON LAW ENFORCEMENT RECOGNIZES THAT WE CANNOT ARREST OR ENFORCE OUR WAY OUT OF THE PANDEMIC”:

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