January 31, 2021 - SACRAMENTO – Senator Dr. Richard Pan, pediatrician and State Senator responded to the interruption of the Dodger Stadium vaccination site when anti-vaxxers marched to the entrance on Saturday, prompting officials to close the gate to secure the site.

“As COVID is now the leading cause of death among Americans and vaccines hold the promise of stopping the pandemic, we should be outraged that unmasked anti-vaccine extremists obstructed entry into the America’s largest vaccination site, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, today as they screamed epithets at the seniors and health care workers waiting in their cars to get the COVID vaccine.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event of violence by these extremists. In 2019, incited by their violent rhetoric, an anti-vaxxer assaulted me on a street while live-streaming the attack on Facebook and another threw blood from the public gallery striking several California Senators on the floor, halting the people’s business. Just this month, anti-vaccine extremists threatened California Senators with gun violence during public comment at a budget hearing and some of the stadium protestors have been identified as participating in the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

The attack on people waiting for their COVID vaccine disproves their false protestations about their rights and freedom. These extremists tried to deny other people their choice to get the vaccine and they want to take away our freedom from this terrible pandemic.  The fact that over 430,000 Americans have died of COVID is not enough for them as they oppose every effort to slow the disease: masks, testing, physical distancing and vaccines. And they again showed they will use violence to stop anyone from protecting themselves and their loved ones from this terrible disease.

Our schools, economy, state and country cannot be held hostage by a privileged minority who do not have facts supporting them and who resort to intimidation and violence to impose dangerous, false beliefs that endanger us all. Our Presidents have repeatedly said that America does not negotiate with terrorists, and that must include domestic terrorists. These extremists have not yet been held accountable, so they continue to escalate violence against the body public. We must now summon the political will to demand that domestic terrorists must face consequences for their words and actions. Our democracy and our lives depend on it.”
Source: Senator Dr. Richard Pan