A website has posted images of what appears to be a far-right extremist angrily calling Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) a “f****t” over anti-coronavirus measures taken in the state.
The website for Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists posted an image of a truck they believe is owned by Loveland, Colorado resident Michael Drewer, 61. The truck is painted with the message “OPEN OUR GYMS F****T.”
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Michael Dean Drewer is a 61 year old man from Loveland, Colorado was seen driving with “OPEN OUR GYMS F**GOT” written on the back of his truck to support a Reopen Colorado protest directed at Colorado’s (gay) governor Jared Polis on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/fJMQeZ5kKJ
— Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists (@COSAntiFascists) May 19, 2020
On his Facebook page, Drewer posted images of himself in Confederate flag shirts. His posts there show off his muscular body, showing how important gym attendance is to him.
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Gov. Polis, who is the first openly gay governor in the U.S., issued a stay-at-home order last month in an effort to reduce COVID-19 casualties. The order closed certain businesses, including restaurants, bars, and gyms, to keep people from gathering in large numbers. The state has started to re-open, but gyms are low on the priority list.
The order has not been without criticism. A prominent Republican state lawmaker said last month that the order is a sign of a “Gestapo-like mentality,” comparing the state’s first Jewish governor to Nazis.
Gyms have been closed by many stay-at-home orders because they are particularly risky when it comes to the spread of coronavirus. Gym-goers tend to touch many of the same objects at gyms, which are not all properly sterilized in between uses. People are also unlikely to stand a safe six-feet apart at a gym because of crowding.
“Gyms can be difficult places to maintain social distancing and the volume of high-touch surfaces and objects makes them uniquely challenging for infection prevention efforts,” epidemiologist and researcher Dr. Saskia Popescu told Vox.
“Moreover, in those environments where social distancing is difficult, the CDC has recommended masks, which you can’t really do when working out.”
