'Shut down the shutdown': Protesters gather in front of Grant County Courthouse

EPHRATA — About 15 people stood in front of the Grant County Superior Courthouse Wednesday to protest Gov. Jay Inslee’s ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

Members of the group referred to themselves as “American people” and held an American flag and a sign reading, “Shut down the shutdown.” Every few minutes, honks from passing cars were met with cheers.

They couldn’t fly to Washington, D.C. or take the time off work to attend the Olympia protests, so they wanted to do something here, Coulee City resident Dani Bolyard said.

The group had three main goals, one protester said: to support the politicians in Washington, D.C. voting to certify the electoral college, to support the protesters in Olympia, and to urge state officials to end the lockdown.

One thing they did not support was the riots in D.C. happening simultaneously, several of them said. All but Bolyard declined to provide their names.

“It’s very specifically not connected to anything to do with the violence,” Bolyard said. “This was planned days ago.”

One protester added they were too old for that.

They urged the restrictions to vary county by county, one protester said, not in multi-county regions, as the governor proposed in his new guidelines Tuesday.

Grant County has had 37 deaths in 2020, the protester inaccurately said. So that’s “not deadly,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate, 37, but that is not deadly.”

According to the Grant County Health District, 83 people have died in Grant County due to COVID-19.

A 69-year-old protester tested positive for the virus and survived it, he said. As an educator, he was more concerned about the long-term impacts it’s having on children out of school.

“We’re the American people,” Bolyard said. “We need to open up this area and get back to real life.”