BY: Ronda Snyder
(Note: This article has been updated to include the name of the woman in purple walking the dogs in Belfast. Four separate sources have confirmed her identity).
There has been a protest against Mask Mandates and Lockdowns on a corner in Belfast Center for quite a few Sundays in a row. The protesters, as protesters are known to be, are often loud and frequently use a megaphone. Recently, the Belfast City Council held a meeting to discuss civility of the protesters. However, it was not the protesters who weren’t civil today. Rather it was two women who engaged the protesters in what can only be described as an uncivil manner.
Protest organizer, Kaleigh Stanley, told Maine Journal News: “The City of Belfast is calling for civility amongst the citizens of Belfast. Does that civility apply to both sides? It appears to me that the “safety” and “civility” only applies to those who follow a certain narrative. Will the Belfast City Council be condemning the assaults on protesters from today? Will there be another City Council meeting to address it and will they spend more taxpayer dollars? I think not.”
There were two altercations at the protest in Belfast today. The first occurred between a woman, Karen Tripp of Belfast, walking her dogs and the protesters. There was a lot of shouting back and forth between Tripp and the protesters. At one point, she shouts to the protesters ““Do you want to get up into my space (or face) and say something to me? Do you want to? Hey if you’re not wearing a mask can I spit on you?”
After the Tripp crosses the street to reach the corner on which the protesters are standing, she shouts at them again and tells them she has COVID symptoms.
Shortly thereafter, according to video forwarded to Maine Journal News, a car driven by a woman who has been identified as Danna Ware pulls up to the corner in her car and stops in the crosswalk. Ms. Ware gets out of her car to confront the protesters and waves the badge hanging on a lanyard around her neck telling them she works in a COVID positive unit. When asked by protesters not to touch them, she responded “but I want to touch you, you don’t have masks on.” At that point, a scuffle appears to have ensued where Ms. Ware allegedly grabbed the hands and cell phone of a protester, Johanna Lane (Ms. Lane was unavailable for comment at the time of publication but we will update this if and when we hear back from Ms. Lane). The police officer steps in and directs Ware to drive to the police station immediately. Ware appears to take off so quickly that her tires squeal to which the police officer responds “She will get a ticket for that.” Maine Journal News reached out to Ware for a comment about the altercation and to confirm the charges filed against her by Belfast Police. Ware said:
Here is a video with the initial altercation between Ware and the protesters in Belfast.
Here’s another angle and longer video of the altercation:
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Dear nurse lady – I totally get it. It most be UNFURIATING for you to care for covid patients all day, all week, all year and then have to see these people doing their thing. Obviously, their backing up from you threatening to touch them shows they have some level of understanding this virus is dangerous yet they insist on their “freedom” game. What you didn’t see is after you left, they were hooting and hollering up a racket for the rest of their time there, totally stoked on the rush they got from their confrontation with you. Please, people, leave them alone. Stop giving oxygen to this fire.
You condone her behavior? The police didn’t. She was charged with disorderly conduct, assault and reckless conduct.
Regarding the lady with the two dogs, notice how many times she touches her mask? Clearly against CDC guidelines. That’s why “the science” says that the masks, especially cloth masks, are useless. Now, if she came up with a N95 or N100 mask, she’d have more credibility.
After a year of these requests and now rules for mask to be worn,why can’t people comply and save a life ?.I am 75 yrs old and going to get the vaccine only because of those who refuse to ware masks!!! I personally do not believe in vaccines.,but feel it is my only way to help curb the spread and saves lives who will be taken unnecessarily.We must regain our Country back to be peaceful .God Bless America 🇺🇸
Good luck with that vaccine. If you don’t believe in regular vaccines, why are you getting an mRNA vaccine that hasn’t even been approved by the FDA?
Golly… I have a feeling that nurse is long overdue for some REST TIME at home. Hopefully, now she’ll be getting some, after the court case is finished.
people shouldnt waste their time protesting weather people should wear masks, its a no brainer situation wear ur mask or stay home , people r so worried about themself what about that elderly lady who has to go get her meds or her food and she has nobody so she goes out wearing her mask n some idiot doesnt, wtf is so hard about wearing ur mask are u That self-absorbed where you need to not wear it to show people what you look like? Because trust me a lot of you guys should be wearing them to cover up what you do look like
Can I buy you some punctuation such as a period or two?
How do we get in on the protests will bring a crowd to help support you
You’d have to talk to protest organizers though I believe they are scheduled every Sunday at noon in downtown Belfast. I plan to be there Sunday to cover the protest.
Anyone with Covid symptoms is supposed to stay at home and quarantine. Someone in the medical field threatening others should lose their job and never be able to have a job dealing with the public again. Were she to actually spit, that is assault.
Ronda has a very bad habit of reporting fake news and pretending that she actually knows what she’s talking about. She claims to have facts when all she does is make them up in her head
Karen, don’t you know that when you use the same language and words when you post comments here and on Twitter that I know it’s you. Plus you’ve used “wetasspatriot” on your Twitter account. Also, when you commented here in the past using your real name, the IP addresses captured by the website then and now, show it’s you making these comments?