Thousands of New York City unvaccinated city employees flooded the streets, peacefully marching across the Brooklyn Bridge and blocking off Manhattan-bound traffic chanting “Let’s Go Brandon,” – which is an alternative to chanting ‘F**k Joe Biden’- to protest against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, New York Post reports.
The chant was born during the recent victory interview of NASCAR racer Brandon Brown MSNBC when the interviewer misinterpreted the fans’ derogatory chants about President Biden by claiming they were chanting “Let’s go Brandon.”
Expecting the mandate to persuade the vast majority of city employees to get the jab, De Blasio announced last week that unvaxxed city employees will be put on unpaid leave after November 1 until they provide proof of vaccination.
Footage of the protest posted Monday on social media shows long streams of police officers, firefighters and other city employees, many of which held American flags, including one so large that it stretched across almost the entire width of the bridge and took about a dozen people to carry it, and chanting “We the people will not comply,” “No vaccine mandates,” and “Wake up New York.”
According to mayoral candidate Curtis Silva, who reportedly attended Monday’s protest, De Blasio’s “draconian” mandate would harm all New Yorkers since the city already faces lack of police officers, first responders, healthcare workers and teachers.
Billed as an anti-mandate march for approximately 50,000 NYC municipality employees who haven’t yet been vaccinated against Covid-19, the protest reportedly began at the New York Fire Department’s headquarters in Brooklyn and ended at City Hall in Manhattan.
According to police sources, at least 20 protesters were arrested.
City workers’ march comes one day after anti-vaccine protesters stormed the entrance of the Barclays Center arena after breaking the security barriers outside before the NBA game of Brooklyn Nets that suspended its star player Kyrie Irving for refusing to comply with the jab requirement for all people entering major indoor venues.
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