Police in Harrisburg prepare for another anti-shutdown protest Friday at the Capitol

Police in Harrisburg are preparing for hundreds of protesters to gather again Friday near the state Capitol to oppose Gov. Tom Wolf’s lockdown measures to stem the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Capitol police say they don’t know how many people will show up since the organizers did not apply for a permit, but Department of General Services Spokesman Troy Thompson said the last rally organized by the same group on April 20 drew an estimated 650 to 750 protesters.

That’s lower than some media reports estimates for the April 20 event that had it drawing 1,000 or more participants.

Organizers said they did ask for a permit, but the Dept. of General Services said they didn’t need to have one.

Either way, Harrisburg police said they believe Friday’s gathering, led by organizers of the Reopen PA Facebook page, will be smaller than the April 20 rally, which was hosted by Reopen PA and several other groups.

Matt Bellis, one of the organizers of Friday’s event, said they hope to attract 10,000 to 15,000 people to convince the governor to allow businesses that have been deemed non-life sustaining to reopen. The governor, however, has said he plans to stick with his Department of Health metrics, including the number of new COVID-19 cases, when deciding which counties can loosen restrictions.

The shutdown is an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has already infected nearly 60,000 across the Commonwealth and killed at least 4,218 in Pennsylvania, with nearly 70 percent of those deaths coming from nursing home or personal care home residents.

At the time of the first rally, more than three weeks ago, the novel virus had infected 33,232 and killed at least 1,204 in Pennsylvania, including 682 (57 percent) at nursing or personal care homes, according to the Department of Health statistics.

Harrisburg Police Lt. Milo Hooper said the protest on April 20 was peaceful, with no issues, no traffic crashes and no trash left behind.

Thompson said Capitol Police made one arrest April 20 for disorderly conduct, but he did not provide any information on what prompted that single arrest.

Harrisburg police will be working with Capitol Police on Friday and Pennsylvania State Police helped with planning police coverage for the event, Thompson said.

The police “will be on-hand to ensure that those individuals exercising their first amendment rights do so in a manner that is peaceful, not disruptive and safe for everyone,” Thompson said. “As long as the protesters are peaceful and compliant with the security measures in place, things should be fine. Naturally, if there are any crimes or violations of the law that occur, the Capitol Police will take the necessary, appropriate action.”

Speakers at the protest are expected to start talking at noon. Police said some protesters last time arrived several hours before the protest.

Friday’s event was prompted by some people’s dissatisfaction with the length of the governor’s emergency lockdown and questions about whether it’s a proper use of the governor’s emergency powers. The message of Friday’s rally is intended to tell the governor to “give up the power and work with the general assembly again,” Bellis said.

The governor is a Democrat and the General Assembly is controlled by Republicans, some of whom have recently coordinated efforts to partner with county commissioners to buck Wolf’s stay-at-home orders.

As with the April rally, participants are expected to flock to the Capitol steps and drive around the Capitol Complex honking their horns, Bellis said.

To limit excessive traffic and noise in Harrisburg’s residential neighborhoods, police will be closing off much of the Capital Area Neighborhood to thru starting at 8 a.m. Friday.

Barricades allowing local traffic only will be placed at the following intersections, as well as other locations as needed, for the duration of the scheduled protests:

  • 2nd & North
  • 2nd & Briggs
  • Forster & Susquehanna
  • Forster & Green
  • Third & North
  • Forster & Penn
Harrisburg closes streets May 15, 2020

The city of Harrisburg released this map to show road closures and offer routes protesters can use to circle the Capitol.

The city also will be temporarily closing the intersections at 2nd and Forster streets and 3rd and Forster, while encouraging protesters to follow the route of 2nd-to-Forster-to-Third and the Capitol steps.

“We respect the right of the protesters to make their voices heard,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We ask them in turn to respect the rights of our residents to be safe in their homes and not have to put up with excessive disruptions to their daily routines.”

The previous event in April drew not only home-grown protesters, but also out-of-staters and gun rights activists some of whom carried large rifles.

The Capitol is currently largely deserted because of the COVID-19 lockdown. Those expected to attend Friday’s rally will be violating Wolf’s prohibition against large public gatherings, a measure aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

Bellis said speakers for the event include state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, who has called for the resignation of state Health Secretary Rachel Levine. Also on tap to speak are state Rep. Russ Diamond, an Annvile Republican, Danny DeVito, a GOP candidate running for a state House seat in Western Pa., and attorney Marc Scaringi, a regular columnist for PennLive and The Patriot-News.

READ: Man ‘facing death’ battles back from COVID-19 with help of bold new therapy

READ: ‘Stand up with me’: Crowd, GOP politicians roar support for central Pa. barber defying COVID-19 closure order

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.