A member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors appears to be trying to associate residents of Orange County, California, against the implementation of a vaccine passport system with “insurrectionists” who took part in the January 6 protests at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
“I notice a few people there who took part in the insurrection. These are the same people who deny Covid, oppose masks, and stormed the United States Capitol,” Supervisor Katrina Foley posted on Twitter earlier this month about residents who gathered outside a Board of Supervisors meeting to voice concerns over the application.
Residents of the County have been battling the BoS for months over proposed implementation of a passport system that would deny access to services and businesses to residents who have not received a Covid19 vaccination.
Concerned residents see it as an invasion of privacy and say officials are attempting to defame those against the passport by calling them anti-vaxxers, insurrectionists and even racists.
“What’s going on in Orange County has absolutely nothing to do with being pro- or anti-vaccine. And that’s what the Board of Supervisors has been trying to paint,” a member of OCUnite.org, an accountability organization dedicated to exposing corruption at the OC BoS, told ITN yesterday.
I notice a few people there who took part in the insurrection. These are the same people who deny Covid, oppose masks, and stormed the United States Capitol.
— Katrina Foley (@KatrinaFoley) May 11, 2021
“If you question the Board of Supervisors you are racist or an anti-vaxxer. And that couldn’t be any further from the truth.”
The person didn’t feel comfortable having their name published, they said, because of the smear campaigns and retaliation tactics practiced by the Board.
“This is not a partisan issue. This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. This is a humanity issue. Do we want big tech to have access to our medical records? Do we feel like it’s right to turn service away from someone who’s not vaccinated? This is about discrimination,” they added.
“Our whole philosophy is it’s your body, your choice. If you want to get a vaccine, great. And if you don’t, that’s great as well.”
Orange County officials attempted to roll out the passport system earlier this year. After a fierce public backlash they re-characterized the app as a digital record-keeping system rather than one that would be used to deny access to residents from businesses and public venues.
ITN contacted Supervisor Foley’s office to inquire about her accusation that residents protesting against the passport systems had also participated in the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. As of the time of this publishing we had not received a response.