Gun-wielding protesters seen imitating Lincoln's shooter as they hang Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's effigy
A group of protestors who were rallying against Kentucky's lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic marched to Governor Andy Beshear's mansion at the state capitol in Frankfurt and hanged an effigy of his on a tree on the estate.
The protest, organized by citizen activist group Take Back Kentucky, was advertised on Facebook as a Patriot Day Rally to exercise Second Amendment Rights and inspire people about "what it really means to be FREE" but quickly took a turn for the macabre.
The group started at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, with members carrying guns and waving American and 'Don't Tread On Me' flags before morphing into a protest against coronavirus restrictions and Beshear's administration.
Protestors marched to Beshear's mansion to demand his resignation but had other plans as well. In a one-minute video shared by Courier-Journal reporter Sarah Ladd, a group of people, including children, can be seen watching as a man wearing combat fatigues throws a rope over the branch of a tree on the property, and then with the help of another, pulls the effigy up so it's hanging. He then ties the end of the rope to another branch.
You can watch the video here.
A sign put up on the effigy read 'sic semper tyrannis,' which translates to 'thus always tyrants.' It was also the phrase John Wilkes Booth yelled at President Abraham Lincoln before assassinating him.
One of the men who put the effigy up was seen wearing a '3 Percenter' band around his arm. The 3 Percenters are known to be part of a far-right militia movement and paramilitary group.
USA Today reported that some of the protestors were shouting "Come out Andy" and "Resign Andy" while others were carrying placards that read, "My rights don't end where your fear begins" and "Abort Beshear from office."
The effigy remained hanging until another man approached it and cut it down. "There's a gentleman that came up. He was pretty upset about it, and he cut it down. And he was like this has no place at this rally. We're trying to be peaceful," a source told CNN.
The faux hanging was criticized by politicians from both sides of the aisle, who called it "unacceptable" and "beyond reprehensible."
"As a strong defender of the First Amendment, I believe Americans have the right to peacefully protest," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter. "However, today's action toward Governor Beshear is unacceptable. There is no place for hate in Kentucky."
Kentucky Secretary of State, Republican Michael Adams, similarly wrote, "This is disgusting and I condemn it wholeheartedly. The words of John Wilkes Booth have no place in the Party of Lincoln."
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky's Attorney General, tweeted, "This is sickening, and I condemn it. We have to learn to disagree without threats of violence."
Kentucky House Democratic Leader Joni Jenkins, House Democratic Caucus Chair Derrick Graham, and House Democratic Whip Angie Hatton issued a joint statement where they slammed the protest and said it "reeks of hate and intimidation."