In-car protest against COVID-19 prevention efforts planned for downtown Columbia

A group called Drive to Thrive SC is planning a car caravan midday Friday in downtown Columbia to protest Gov. Henry McMaster’s emergency order shutting down many businesses he deemed “non-essential” across the state.

The event is named “Operation Gridlock SC Columbia Reopen & Rescue SC Economy ” on one Facebook page, and “Drive to Thrive SC” on another Facebook page.

Its goal, according to the Facebook page, is to attract 20,000 cars “filling the streets of Columbia” and participants should be “citizens of South Carolina not deemed ‘at-risk’ for Covid-19, according to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines.”

Columbia police chief Skip Holbrook said Wednesday that his 435-officer department is ready for whatever happens. Other S.C. law agencies, including the State Law Enforcement Division and Richland County Sheriff’s Department, will be in reserve if needed, Holbrook said.

“We are aware of it, we are tracking it,” Holbrook said.

No matter how many people show up, the event illustrates sharp divides in visions of how to cope with the societal upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

On one side are concerns about more than 26 million new jobless, thousands of businesses and schools shut down and a plunging stock market. On the other, worries about a 100-year global pandemic of the potentially fatal COVID-19 virus that in the last two months has killed more than 45,000 Americans and overwhelmed many hospitals. The disease is easily transmitted and has no cure and no vaccine.

Earlier this week, McMaster loosened his once sweeping closure order and is now allowing some businesses, including jewelry, clothing, retail, book and jewelry stores, to open. He is still ordering that stores that open and their customers observe distancing guidelines, which scientists say limits the spread of coronavirus.

Police intelligence analysts have already identified the event organizers and the department has spoken with them to ensure good communication. Holbrook, who declined to identify the organizers, said he expects no trouble.

The event is planned from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. Demonstrators are urged to blow their horns at 12:30 pm.

“We are making sure they can have their event, with their safety and everybody else’s safety,” said Holbrook, who declined to identify event organizers. “They don’t plan on getting out of their vehicles, they indicated they intend to follow the rules of the road, not obstruct traffic — their plan is to be seen and heard.”

One post on Facebook encouraged protesters to converge on the University of South Carolina’s Horseshoe grassy center — a physical impossibility if many cars show up given the relatively narrow streets around that part of the USC main campus. The latest map posted on Drive To Thrive SC, on Thursday, does not show the car route passing by the Horseshoe.

“We are coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, but at this time don’t anticipate any gathering on the Horseshoe itself,” said USC spokesperson Jeff Stensland. “We would not have any issue with peaceful protests if they were to occur.”

Unlike similar protests in other state capitals, where video of heavily armed men brandishing assault rifles showed their distaste for stay-at-home orders, Columbia’s protesters won’t be allowed to show guns in public if they have them. In South Carolina, state laws prohibit “open carry” of weapons.

The protesters expected to show likely represent a minority of Americans. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, nearly six in 10 people said in a survey last week they feared lifting too soon “restrictions aimed at slowing the (coronavirus) outbreak.” Only about three out of 10 people were more worried about the economy.

Investigative news stories in national media have linked the various protests to networks of influential conservative leaders and groups with “close connections to the White House,” as a Wednesday story in The New York Times put it.

Although President Trump’s own scientific advisers are urging people to stay at home as the best defense against the coronavirus, Trump has recently at times urged the protesters on, tweeting messages of support such as “Liberate Virginia.” Virginia’s governor has issued a stay at home directive.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit two months ago, Trump was basing his hopes for re-election largely on a prosperous economy and a rising stock market. But with escalating joblessness and widespread business and school shutdowns, Trump’s main campaign message has taken a sharp blow.

Although video clips aired on national news shows have shown other state protests of groups whose members neither wore masks or practiced social distancing, organizers of Friday’s protests in Columbia have specified that participants should stay in their cars and “follow all state and local traffic laws.”

“Being able to publicly assemble and demonstrate is a constitutional right, and we respect that,” Holbrook said. “We do our best to always accommodate people that are assembling to express their beliefs. We’re a state capital, and we deal with that a lot. We respect that, and we’re always going to be professional.”

Editor’s note: This story was edited after publication to eliminate a generalization characterizing the protesters as caring more about the economy than saving lives. We regret the error.

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 6:07 PM.