Adults Have Kids Burn Masks Outside Idaho Statehouse, Video Shows

BOISE, ID — Young anti-mask protesters burned masks outside the Idaho State Capitol Building over the weekend and were encouraged to do so by adults at the rally, a video shared widely on social media over the weekend shows.

"Destroy them," kids can be heard saying in the video first shared by Sergio Olmos, a reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting.

"Let them burn," an adult chimed in, warning the kids to not throw them in the fire "too fast."

The rally, planned by conservative political groups in Idaho, was one of several planned across the state Saturday. Republican elected officials at the Boise mask-burning event included Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice K. McGeachin and state Rep. Dorothy Moon, Olmos reported.

There is no statewide mask mandate in Idaho, and there has not been one at any time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic this time last year, according to a KTVB report, but local restrictions are in place in some parts of the state, including Boise.

Although protesters in Boise had a permit, the mask-burning remains under investigation by the Idaho State Police as open flames are "not allowed" on state grounds.

The protest came several months after anti-government activist Ammon Bundy led a group that stormed of a legislative session at the Idaho Capitol building, an event that, according to The Washington Post, is seen as having been a dry run for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.