Watch county commissioner in WA state walk out after meeting melts down into mask protest

The regular meeting of the Franklin County commissioners disintegrated Tuesday into a rally against Washington state’s mask mandate, with one commissioner walking out in protest.

The mandate reinstated Monday to curb the surging number of COVID-19 cases and deaths requires people to wear masks inside public buildings.

Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier, along with dozens of audience members, came to the meeting without a mask and refused to put one on.

In a fiery exchange, Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant explained to Didier and fellow commissioners Brad Peck and Rocky Mullen that the action could result in a lawsuit by the state and would cause the meeting to be considered “illegal.” That means any actions they took at the meeting could be voided.

Didier’s continued to refused to comply, prompting Peck to walk out of the session at the county courthouse to the applause and jeers of some people in the room.

In the end, Mullen said they needed to delay dealing with items on their agenda, including a hearing on a land use permit that was scheduled for the day.

While he said he didn’t agree with Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate, he also wanted to make sure that they weren’t opening up the county for legal action.

But his decision came after nearly two hours of discussion and emotional public comments about the mandate.

Didier protest

Didier had promised Monday that he was going to come to the meeting without a mask, saying that he was willing to risk being charged with a gross misdemeanor and potentially removed from office.

“Our founding fathers recognized that our unalienable rights were given to us by our creator, God. That which God has granted us, no man, no government, no governor and no president can take away,” Didier said in a video on his Facebook page. “Therefore I’m asking all men who will stand with me.”

The announcement brought a standing-room-only crowd to the commission meeting room. The meeting was also broadcast online.

“I know the Legislature supposedly gave him this authority, as citizens don’t accept that,” Didier said. “We want civil disobedience in this room to make a point. We cannot have our God-given liberties taken away by a governor!”

The meeting barely began before Peck challenged Didier, saying he was not going to participate in a meeting where the governor’s emergency order was being violated.

Peck pointed out the protest could invalidate any decision the commissioners made.

This was backed up by Sant, who talked through several interruptions by the rambunctious crowd. He said he swore to protect the laws of the state, and whether he liked it or not, the governor’s order carried the weight of law.

Legal challenges to previous mandates have been unsuccessful, and Sant didn’t believe he could successfully defend the county based on the evidence of the rising rates of COVID-19 showing that there’s a health emergency.

“The problem is that the Legislature has authorized this. This is not the governor just imposing or taking power. This was passed by the Legislature,” Sant said. “This is the law, and frankly, what the people hired me to do, is to provide guidance to keep the county out of legal jeopardy.”

This was followed by Sheriff Jim Raymond saying that he wasn’t going to arrest anyone for not wearing a mask, but he wanted people to stay polite in the room.

Before the meeting dissolved into a rally against the mandate and Didier asked members of the public to speak, Peck walked out.

Before he left, he pointed out that the Legislature refused to address the governor’s emergency powers during the most recent session.

“Whether you like the governor, personally I’m not a fan, it is very clear that the state Legislature, including Rep. (Brad) Klippert standing here, voted 99 percent yes, both parties, to give him that power,” Peck said. “He’s exercising the power that the Legislature, of our representative republic, gave him.”

Most of the people who then spoke during the next two hours, said it was time to stand up in protest. Many thanked Didier for leading the charge.

One man broke down in tears as he explained his friends were leaving Washington and moving to Florida because of how the governor was acting.

Another said they are living in a culture of fear where people are afraid to stand up and do the right thing. He urged people to stand up and take back the country.

“I believe in fighting for freedom,” said county Assessor John Rosenau. “I will fight for anybody to not wear a mask and not to get a vaccine,”

Rosenau, who said he wasn’t speaking as assessor, said he had people in his office tell him that they would quit if they were forced to wear a mask.

Commissioner Rocky Mullen proved to be deciding factor in deciding if the meeting continued.

“I have several business, one of them I haven’t made a dime in over a year because it’s been completely shut down,” he said. “I’ve also been under the thumb of (Labor and Industries) L&I and I know what the repercussions are. And when that happens you’re kind of on your own.”

He along with Klippert, Sant and others urged the people to take their concerns to Olympia and have the Legislature hold a special session.

This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Watch county commissioner in WA state walk out after meeting melts down into mask protest."