The demonstrations against the coronavirus shutdowns came to upstate New York on Monday, with a lunchtime “Gridlock Buffalo” protest, at which cars and trucks blockaded Niagara Square, in the heart of the city. The event was specifically directed at Governor Andrew Cuomo, who recently extended his stay-at-home order until May 15th, but it was similar to protests in Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, and other states.
According to the Buffalo News, the person behind Monday’s protest was Rus Thompson, a local conservative activist and supporter of Donald Trump who was involved in a pro-Trump protest last summer timed to coincide with a pro-impeachment rally. This is not surprising. A demonstration in Lansing, Michigan, last week which attracted national attention was organized by “a group founded by a pro-Trump state representative and his wife, Meshawn Maddock, who is on the advisory board for an official Trump campaign group called ‘Women for Trump,’ ” the Associated Press reported. And, according to the New York Times, a protest outside the statehouse in Austin, Texas, which took place on Saturday, was organized by Owen Shroyer, the host of a radio program from Infowars, the right-wing disinformation Web site.