Morning Wire - Protests Against Mandates, Plus Victims of Violent Crime

Episode Date: January 24, 2022

Protests against Covid mandates sweep through Europe and the U.S., putting a face on the violent crime wave in American cities, and the 49th March for Life arrives in D.C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thousands of people in cities around the world gathered to protest COVID lockdowns, vaccine passports, and vaccine mandates. Let doctors be doctors. Don't shackle our hands. We will not comply with your silliness. The protests included medical professionals who say medical freedom and the right to refuse treatment is a fundamental human right. We take a look at the reasons for defiance taking place at home and abroad. I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, January 24th, and this is Morning Wire. As crime spikes in major cities, some shocking violent attacks have left communities reeling, and it prompted backlash to soft-on-crime policies in many metropolitan areas. And this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C., had a distinctly optimistic atmosphere.

Tens of thousands of people marched to the Supreme Court on Saturday, hopeful that 2022 is the year that the High Court will strike down Roe v. Wade. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. The Daily Wire is proud to announce our exclusive partnership with Good Ranchers, the 100% American Meat Company. Did you know 85% of the grass-fed beef sold in stores and online is imported from overseas? With Good Ranchers, you help support local American farms and ranches while getting

steakhouse quality cuts. Head on over to Good Ranchers.com slash wire or use code Wire at checkout to get their biggest offer ever. $30 off of your first order plus free express shipping. Visit good rancher.com slash wire today. Over the weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across Europe to protest against vaccine passports and other lockdown measures. The demonstrations took place as a similar protest brought thousands to Washington, D.C.

Here to discuss the wave of protests as Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips. So Cabot, tell us about these demonstrations. What did we see? Yeah, we saw coordinated protests happening in cities across Europe, especially in countries where we've seen some of the harsher lockdown measures and now vaccine passports and mandates. In France, for example, we saw some of the largest demonstrations with tens of thousands of people turning out against the country's new additional vaccine laws, which went into effect this morning. The new measure will ban the unvaccinated from flying within the country and also exclude them from restaurants, bars, and public transportation. In England, we also saw mass protests throughout the country where 80,000 healthcare workers will soon be fired if they don't get the vaccine because of the new law there.

We heard from doctors and nurses who said this form of government coercion in their mind was a human rights violation. This is not a whether you're jabbed or not. It's a fundamental human right to allow someone to accept or decline a medical procedure without threat of reprisal. And if they do accept that medical procedure, it should be with fully informed consent. Many doctors and nurses there responded by walking off the job and placing their scrubs in the street outside of the hospitals where they worked. We also saw tens of thousands gather in Brussels, Helsinki, Athens, and elsewhere throughout Europe. Now, pointing out, earlier COVID protests we'd covered on the show were more focused on ending lockdowns and opening up schools. These protests were different.

This was much more about opposing vaccine passports and mandates. themselves. So what was the main message from the protesters? Well, the message varied from country to country because the laws they were protesting did vary a good bit. But there were some common themes we saw. First was that someone's medical decisions should be kept private and should not determine their ability part in society. On that note, many people did carry signs saying vaccine passports would create a segregated society or a new caste system. Yeah, we've definitely heard that message from others protesting vaccine mandates. Right, but one new message we're starting to hear more focuses on natural immunity.

Remember, in the early days of the pandemic, there was some evidence that those who'd recovered from the virus were largely safe from catching it again. But now there's a lot more data to support that point, and these protesters were definitely making that known. One nurse in London, for example, said, quote, people were once clapping for us, but depreciation anymore. I'm young. I've got antibodies from working on the front line.

I don't want the vaccine. Others have pointed out a new study from the CDC, which showed that during the peak of the Delta variant a few months ago, people who'd recovered from COVID and had natural immunity were six times less likely to catch the virus than those who simply received the vaccine. Right. We saw that study. Yeah. So the new message for a lot of these protesters is that the vaccine should no longer be viewed as the only way to prevent against the spread of COVID. And that people with natural immunity should be viewed as safe or even safer to be around than those with just the vaccine. All right, so that's in Europe.

We also saw similar protests taking place in D.C. Tell us about that. Yeah, tens of thousands marched to the Lincoln Memorial for an event they called, quote, defeat the mandates. The most notable speaker was Dr. Robert Malone, a scientist who helped develop MRNA technology, which is a vital part of most COVID vaccines. He was recently banned from Twitter for, quote, COVID misinformation

after he expressed hesitancy about Blankin vaccine mandates that don't take into account varying risk profiles and individual circumstances. Now, organizers for the protest this weekend say that they're just getting started and they're going to continue until mandates are lifted. Well, it sounds like we're going to be hearing more about this in the future. Cabot, thanks for your time. Absolutely. That's DailyWire's Cabot Phillips.

Coming up, the continuing crime wave in major cities claims more victims. It's never been more important to rethink how we shop and choose brands that are aligned with our values. The Daily Wire's newest partner, Naturally It's Clean, is a home cleaning company that provides hospital-grade cleaning power while reducing the use of harmful chemicals. Try their powerful plant-based formulas for yourself. Today, you can receive 15% off your essentials 4-pack at NaturallyIt'sclean.com slash morning wire when you use the promo code MW15. That's NaturallyIt's Clean.com slash morning wire. Amid a nationwide crime wave, multiple attacks made headlines across the U.S. last week, including an Asian American woman who has pushed in front of a subway train in New York

and a female student who was stabbed to death in Los Angeles. Well, it's easy to let these deaths become statistics. It's worth examining why the uptick in violent crime is happening at all. Dear investigative reporter, Marade, Alorty, is here to tell us more. So, Marade, over the past month, there have been quite a few stories about random attacks in big cities. Now, obviously, the uptick in crime overall has been well documented. but what kind of effect is this having on communities?

Yeah, fatal attacks like what we've seen in L.A. and New York have left communities pretty shaken. In Los Angeles, a 24-year-old woman named Brianna Cooper was randomly stabbed to death while working at a high-end furniture store in the city's Fairfax district. She was alone in the store during the attack and was found by a customer about 20 minutes later. Unfortunately, she was already dead by the time she was found. Her killer was a homeless man with mental issues who had previously been arrested. This horrific incident prompted the Los Angeles Sheriff to harshly criticize the district attorney's lax attitude towards crime. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that L.A. has a, quote, open-air mental asylum and is allowing killers to walk freely amongst us. The sheriff also said that homicides in Los Angeles County spiked by nearly 50% last year, and other violent crime also ticked up.

And Kupfer, that's the young woman in the furniture store. She wasn't the only random attack in L.A. recently. That's right. Within a few days of Kupfer's death, a 70-year-old nurse was brutally attacked at a bus stop and died from her injuries. Her killer was also a homeless man suffering from mental issues and was found asleep nearby shortly after the attack. In another attack, a man assaulted a woman with a bike lock leaving her bloodied. When police responded to that attack, a stray bullet from a Los Angeles police officer ended up killing a 14-year-old girl. An off-duty L.A. police officer was also shot dead earlier this month, allegedly by gang members, while he was house hunting with his girlfriend. After the cop killing, the sheriff said that he has, quote, no confidence in how the local district attorney, George Gascon, will handle the city's crime problem.

So it sounds like this is a mix of gang crime and homeless crime, which is probably more to do with mental health. Right. According to his sheriff at Villanueva, there's a cycle of home individuals committing petty crimes, getting released by police, and then committing more violent crimes later. And what about New York City? Are they seeing a similar pattern? Yes, in New York, a 40-year-old Asian-American tourist named Michelle Goh was killed when she was pushed in front of a subway train earlier this month. Her home community in San Francisco, which has also experienced a crime spike, is still reeling from the shock and a vigil was held for her in the Bay Area. One woman who attended the vigil told local media that she didn't know Goh personally

but said, quote, I just feel like she could be any one of us. And that's really a sentiment a lot of the community members are feeling. Right. And it's one thing to hear about crime statistics. but it's really another to hear about the stories. It really is. Marade, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. That's Daily Wire investigative reporter at Marade Allorty.

The annual March for Life celebrated its 49th anniversary this weekend. The march was held in Washington, D.C., on the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. With at least one highly consequential Supreme Court case in the balance, this year's March may be the last during which Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land. Here to talk about the event is the Daily Signals Mary Margaret Olahan. Mary Margaret, you were at this year's March. Tell us what you saw. Yeah, sure. Thank you, John.

So, as you mentioned, this is a particularly big year for the March for Life. As we know, the Supreme Court is hearing a major abortion case that may overturn Roeby Wade. Right. That's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. And it was brought before the court on December 1st. So in light of that, the march had a distinctly optimistic theme. I spoke with a lot of people at the March for Life, including March for Life President Jeannie Mancini, who told us that pro-lifers are working towards a culture where abortion is unthinkable.

If Roe is overturned, and please God, let's pray and fast that that happens, it will be a new moment in building a culture of life, but the work will not be accomplished. So we're working for a culture where abortion is unthinkable. And the reality is that Roe will simply return the question of abortion legislation to the state. So finally, states like Mississippi and Texas can enact laws that protect life prior to viability. I also spoke with many young people who had traveled to D.C. from all over the country. They described themselves as the pro-life generation. Kingman Lee, who's 24, told us that he traveled from Georgia to D.C. for his very first March for Life.

I'm here to advocate for the babies, man. Right now, like seriously, too many of our babies have been killed, brutally murdered, and it's our job as grown adults to protect life. Now, last year's march was held virtually due to the pandemic, but this time people were able to come out in person. How many people do we think attended this year's event? Well, we aren't 100% certain, but we've seen multiple reports that there were tens of thousands of people in D.C. this year. Most years, a large portion of the marchers travel from town,

but that was a little more difficult this year due to fears about traveling, as well as D.C.'s new vaccine mandate. Likewise, some large institutions like the University of Notre Dame, which typically sends hundreds of student marchers each year, pulled out this year due to fears about Omicron. It was also bitterly cold all day with temperatures in the low 20s. That said, energy was high and it was really upbeat. There was a lot of singing and cheering and praying

as the group marched towards the Supreme Court. It's definitely a very diverse crowd with a variety of religions represented, as well as all ages and races. What about protests? Did you encounter any protesters against the march? Not many. I'd say we saw surprisingly few people protesting, in fact.

But the night before, the group Catholics for Choice projected multiple different massive pro-abortion statements onto the largest shrine in North America, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Northeast D.C. The group projected the words pro-choice Catholics, you are not alone, as well as several other really pro-abortion statements.

And this was a very controversial move as the official position of the Catholic Church is pro-life, and the church has described abortion as, quote, a crime against human life. Not surprisingly, D.C.'s Archbishop Wilton Gregory strongly condemned this move in a Friday's statement. And while I was at the March for Life, I also spoke with Arlington Bishop Michael Burbage.

Here's what he had to say. It was chilling to hear that that kind of behavior would be conducted. But in my homily at NASS this morning, I spoke about that. I said, you know, we have the truth and we can march peacefully joyfully. But there are evil forces who will try to disregard, to discredit us. And they will not do so in ways that are proper. But the most high-profile counter-protestors were probably President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The administration released a statement Saturday commemorating the 49th anniversary of Roby Wade, and they warn that the decision is under attack like never before. So clearly there's lots of supporters and some powerful detractors. Yes, definitely. That was Mary Margaret O'Lahan reporting from D.C. for The Daily Wire. If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news. you need to know.

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