The room was bustling at a small Redmond restaurant the Monday after Christmas. A sign on the counter read, 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not wearing a mask we assume you鈥檙e exempt.鈥� Most people in view were not masked as they waited for food and margaritas.
But this was no late lunch rush: It was a meeting to marshal support for defying state emergency health orders.
鈥淭he only way for my family and my staff to survive is to not comply with the executive order,鈥� said meeting host and Westside Local restaurant owner Amber Amos.
鈥淲e are trying to encourage everyone to open Jan. 1,鈥� she told OPB prior to the gathering. 鈥淭he mayor [of Redmond] is coming. I have an attorney coming to speak on what is happening with the closure and how our industry is being targeted.鈥�
Amos has lately become a public face for questioning the legality and fairness of business restrictions for indoor dining in areas of Oregon that state health officials have deemed an 鈥渆xtreme risk鈥� for spreading the coronavirus. This designation from the Oregon Health Authority bans all indoor dining, gym openings and indoor entertainment. Currently, 24 of Oregon鈥檚 36 counties, including Deschutes where Amos鈥� is located, are considered 鈥�.鈥� Most of those counties will stay at that level after Jan. 1, until infection rates decline.
It鈥檚 been more than a month since rising virus cases prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to issue more, which have proved devastating to some businesses while minimally affecting others.
Like Amos, some owners in Central Oregon have ignored this round of state directives. Now, that defiance is growing, with businesses, activists, and a budding coalition of mayors allying to promote a coordinated rebellion that begins New Year鈥檚 Day.
Amos said state regulatory agencies have threatened her with enforcement action, and that in the wake of media coverage she has dealt with public backlash and online threats.
鈥淚 have had armed guards in front of my restaurant from the time I open until the time I close, who refuse to be paid because they care that much about what I鈥檓 trying to do,鈥� Amos said.
She welcomes the presence.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not here to shoot anyone, they鈥檒l just politely escort them off the property,鈥� she said.
'A private event'
Amos said she opened her restaurant for the first time in May, after investing tens of thousands to start the business before the pandemic, only to be delayed by the first round of state shutdowns.
鈥淢y children鈥檚 godfather is in the hospital right now battling COVID. It鈥檚 very real. But the problem is that everybody else can be open and we can鈥檛,鈥� she said.
Meetings like the one she hosted Monday have been happening around Central Oregon in recent weeks, drawing business owners and public officials in Redmond, Madras, Bend, and Prineville, while being promoted and guarded by local activists, some of whom are armed.
Amos initially invited OPB to attend her meeting in Redmond, but at the scene, an unmasked man at the door blocked entry. A clear plastic wire coiled on his neck, leading to an earpiece reminiscent of a security force.
鈥淭his is a private event,鈥� said Bruce 鈥淏.J.鈥� Soper, who is an Oregon leader for a growing regional network known as 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Rights.鈥� Amos described her impression of the group as, 鈥淕od-fearing patriots who care about the bigger picture.鈥�
The group鈥檚 Oregon-centric website encourages people to join the ranks by signing up for a mass texting service. Its messages promote businesses that aren鈥檛 following emergency health guidelines. Its website offers an 鈥淥regon business owner鈥檚 guide.鈥� falsely claims that wearing a mask is dangerous to a person鈥檚 health. It also asserts business owners are breaking numerous laws if they obey emergency public health orders.
For months, Soper, 44, has been the face of this network in Oregon, promoting and posting YouTube videos about its weekly in-person meetings at Aspen Lakes Golf Course in Sisters.
The name People鈥檚 Rights and its template for community organizing originate with one of the West鈥檚 most well-known anti-government activists. 鈥� who received international attention in 2016 for orchestrating an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife refuge, and l 鈥� created the People鈥檚 Rights network.
Soper to Burns, Oregon, in 2016 during Bundy鈥檚 occupation,
In texts to OPB this week, Soper said Bundy 鈥渉elped develop the idea of people鈥檚 rights,鈥� but was insistent that the network鈥檚 leadership is not centralized, and that 鈥淎mmon has NOTHING to do with Oregon.鈥�
The network does have a central online hub for its materials, however, and Soper鈥檚 group uses the same five-digit number as Bundy for a mass texting service. Bundy also appears in training videos promoted by Oregon chapters. To join the People鈥檚 Rights network, people are asked to enter personal information through the main website, before being assigned to state-specific text alerts.
After protesters in Salem with state police outside the Dec. 21 special legislative session, those who signed up with Oregon zip codes got an 鈥渆mergency call to action,鈥� asking them to assemble at the Capitol if they could. In the ensuing hours, some protesters assaulted journalists and broke windows on the Capitol building鈥檚 doors. Social media livestreams show Soper at the scene.
after arrests at the capitol, a mass text goes out to all Oregon chapters of this group founded by Ammon Bundy. in Idaho, it's linked to protests of health districts/officials. In Oregon, local militias are backing businesses that defy public health restrictions.
— Emily Cureton (@emilycureton)
鈥淒o you not understand the constitution, where it says the Capitol has to be open to the public?鈥� Soper said of the event, as he was ejecting OPB from Monday鈥檚 Redmond meeting, where business owners had gathered to talk with a public official about plans for the rebellious reopening.
Soper was adamant that the People鈥檚 Rights network is not a militia. His own history of activism includes founding the Central Oregon Constitutional Guard, a group that conducts firearms training and has been . Lately, he has collaborated with the regional leader of the Three Percent militia to hold People鈥檚 Rights events. A review of social media profiles for 鈥渁rea assistants鈥� of the People鈥檚 Rights also shows a theme of anti-vaccine content.
Since the pandemic began, Soper has sent dozens of emails laced with threatening language to public officials, lately signing them as both 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Rights Oregon Leader鈥� and 鈥淐entral Oregon Constitutional Guard.鈥�
In December, he wrote to the Deschutes County commission and sheriff: 鈥淚f you intend to push forward with this abuse in our Communities, EXPECT US TO FIGHT BACK.鈥� Back in July, the Bend City Council was on Soper鈥檚 recipient list, too: 鈥淲e have created a group of people THOUSANDS strong across this state who will not stand for our rights being abused any longer鈥� You are on notice that we fully intend to defend ourselves from your abuse politically, legally and physically if necessary.鈥� Earlier that same month, in a back and forth with Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Henderson, Soper wrote: 鈥淧hil, people are going to get hurt if this continues down this trajectory.鈥�
Political backing
Redmond Mayor George Endicott confirmed he was among those squeezed into Amos鈥� restaurant Monday, as she made the case for other businesses to unite in defying state restrictions. Endicott said he counted 14 local business owners in the room.
鈥淎s luck would have it, I had to step out and take a call as they were discussing what steps they were going to take,鈥� Endicott said. 鈥淲hen I came back in, they had made the decision collectively to open sometime next week.鈥�
Endicott said he wore a mask, but that many people there did not.
鈥淚 just think that people as individuals can make up their own minds about how they want to act,鈥� he said, adding that as far as the rogue reopening plan goes: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 condone it, or not condone it. But if you鈥檙e going to do that, you better all do it together.鈥�
Other mayors have been bolder in backing plans to override the governor鈥檚 emergency orders.
Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam appeared maskless at a People鈥檚 Rights event in Madras last week to promote his own coalition of public officials: Main Street Mayors. Earlier this month, Pulliam wrote an open letter to Gov. Brown, announcing that as of Jan. 1, 鈥渕embers of our coalition operating in counties labeled 鈥楨xtreme Risk鈥� will voluntarily comply with your requirements for 鈥楬igh Risk,鈥� which will allow restaurants and gyms to open at significantly reduced capacity. We will likewise follow with one level below the state mandate until the risk levels change to reflect our compromise.鈥�
Pulliam told OPB that because desperate businesses are already disregarding the rules, his intention is 鈥渢o figure out how to make it so people can reopen as safely as possible.鈥�
鈥淭his is about our mom-and-pop, locally-owned main street business owners, and communities like Sandy 鈥� and across Oregon 鈥� who are truly at their wit鈥檚 end, and who feel like they don鈥檛 have a choice,鈥� he said.
When asked if the description of armed volunteers at the Redmond caf茅 concerned him, Pulliam responded: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 have too much to say about that, as long as they are doing it in a safe and respectful manner.鈥�
Pulliam said his first exposure to the People鈥檚 Rights network was accepting the Central Oregon group鈥檚 invitation to speak with business owners in Madras on Dec. 20, the night before protests in Salem would lead to violence.
鈥淚 can certainly understand the frustration of not being allowed to have a voice in your own state Capitol building. But, I certainly do not understand any kind of violent or mob-like activity,鈥� Pulliam said.
A spokesman for Oregon鈥檚 Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the state agency charged with enforcing emergency orders relating to worker safety, said businesses that get complaints or otherwise openly defy health restrictions should expect to get more attention from state regulators.
鈥淭his virus is a genuine hazard,鈥� OSHA鈥檚 Aaron Corvin said.
Protesters opposed to the governor鈥檚 orders already who tried to take actions against a business openly flouting restrictions.
As for the threat of armed volunteers, Corvin declined to discuss future enforcement plans. He also didn鈥檛 share what his agency plans to do if businesses defy emergency orders en masse.
鈥淲e鈥檇 have to take a look at that, if or when it happens,鈥� Corvin said. 鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise if something else unprecedented happens. Ultimately, our mission remains the same. We鈥檙e going to just continue to work as hard as we can to keep workers safe.鈥�
Copyright 2020 Oregon Public Broadcasting
