(The Minnesota Sun) — Thousands gathered at a medical freedom rally on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol on Saturday. Estimates ranged from 3,000 to 5,000 participants.
Many protesters held signs saying things like “Stop the mandate” and “My body, my choice.” Others wore shirts that had phrases that stated “Health is not mandated” and “Medical freedom.”
The event took place for three hours, with various people speaking in opposition to mandated COVID vaccinations for health care professionals. Speakers ranged from attorneys and doctors to candidates for Minnesota’s 2022 gubernatorial election.
One unplanned speaker was an insider from within the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Mandi Finneman, an employee with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said she spoke up because she “had nothing left to lose anymore.” In her speech, she said that she believed there was a double standard within government health institutions.
Finneman told The Minnesota Sun that she “was put into a position of not having anything left to lose.”
The state worker said, “I was denied support from my administrator and state leadership to work with me to continue employment without bias.” She said that it was her time to show her daughter what it means to stand for something and to stand strong.
She said that her “road with the state came to a T” and they were not “heading in the same direction.”
Dr. Neil Shah, a 2022 gubernatorial candidate, was one of the speakers and said he was “humbled to stand alongside thousands of Minnesotans who will not comply with medical tyranny.”
Other local lawmakers in attendance included state Reps. Glenn Gruenhagen, Shane Mekeland, Erik Mortensen, Jeremy Munson, and Eric Lucero. State Sen. Jim Abeler also was there.
The event was put on by four nurses who believe that hospitals are making the wrong choice in making nurses and doctors be vaccinated against COVID or lose their jobs. Jenny Johnson-Erickson, Breanna Kordiak, Brenna Marie, and Alayna Braziel began planning the event in early August and it was a grassroots movement that reached thousands.
As reported by The Sun, Johnson-Erickson, one of the event organizers, said she works in health care and feels her job is in jeopardy. Johnson-Erickson told The Sun, “I have been a vaccine advocate for many years, I support people who choose this path for themselves.”
Kordiak said in a comment to The Sun, “We want to raise awareness of the very REAL risks involved with the experimental ‘vaccine’ at hand as reports of post-injection death and long-term disability to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) are reaching unprecedented levels.”
Kordiak said, “Our goal is to have a safe place for ALL to voice their concerns, feel supported, share resources and stand up for medical freedom and medical choice. After all, these workplace mandates are not going to stop with health care workers!”
Hayley Tschetter
Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and the Star News Network. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to unlyrl@ibyragr.ovm.
