A man dressed as a Revolutionary patriot wearing sunglasses and carrying an American flag and a Revolutionary Gadsden flag with a rattlesnake bearing the words ‘Don’t tread on me” walked the length of the Redondo Beach Esplanade Friday evening, on the ocean side sidewalk.
He was protesting Los Angeles County beach closures, which includes the Esplanade’s oceanside sidewalk. The man, who declined to identify himself, and a woman who declined to identify herself appeared to be the only two protesters to respond to a social media post calling for a rally on the Esplanade against “the overreaction to the coronavirus.”
“We’re not drones of the politicians…. All who value the Bill of Rights will gather on the Esplanade keeping arms lengths apart and protest,” the post read.
The woman’s sign read, “Free to Shelter, Free to Resume Life.”
One driver stopped to take a selfie with the man in the Patriot costume. Otherwise the number of honks in support of the protest and the number of F-bombs shouted at the protesters were about equal in number.
A large number of people gathered along the east side of the Esplanade. But they appeared more interested in watching the sun set than in the protest.
Police eventually asked the two protestors to stay off the ocean side of the Esplanade and then returned their attention to directing people waiting for the sunset to practice social distancing. ER
