MOB MENTALITY

The Reaction to an Idaho Lockdown Arrest Was Bonkers

Enraged callers lobbed insults and threats at the police, dispatch records show.

Anti-lockdown zealots phoned in insults and threats to an Idaho police department that arrested a woman who ignored “no trespassing” signs at a playground closed to protect people from the new coronavirus. The Idaho Statesman reports that after video of Sarah Walton Brady’s arrest went viral, vile calls began pouring in to the Meridian Police dispatch. “You people need to be strung up in trees and KILLED for treason. This is treason you fucking idiots,” one caller said. The word Nazi and various coronavirus conspiracy theories were thrown around. One person warned that “a mob” would be going to the arresting officer’s house. The Statesman reports that out of 300-odd calls, only 70 were Idaho residents.