Ohio Prosecutor Warns of Anti-Vaxxers Planning to Shut Down Highways

An Ohio prosecutor issued a stern warning Saturday to anti-vaccine protesters thought to be planning to take over highways in an attempt to protest vaccine mandates. “I want to be perfectly clear,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said in a statement. “Anyone who attempts to shut down the highways in Hamilton County will be removed from their vehicles, charged with felony disrupting public services, and they will go to jail.” Deters said his office had been made aware of plans for a nationwide anti-vaccine protest on Sept. 27 that would see drivers blocking traffic on highways across the country. “To those who claim to be supportive of law enforcement—law enforcement is not with you. This would pose a serious danger for our first responders and the community at large,” he said, calling the purported plan “reckless.” The protest, dubbed the “Patriot Shutdown,” has been hyped on Facebook and TikTok, though it was not immediately clear how well-organized the event was, or how many people, if any, intended to take part.