Name: Protesters descend on Monadnock Food Co-op over mask mandate
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Protesters descend on Monadnock Food Co-op over mask mandate

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene.Protesters speak with police outside the Monadnock Food Co-op Saturday afternoon, as shown in this video screenshot. Some entered the grocery store wearing no masks to protest the store’s enforcement of mask requirements.The Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene.Protesters speak with police outside the Monadnock Food Co-op Saturday afternoon, as shown in this video screenshot. Some entered the grocery store wearing no masks to protest the store’s enforcement of mask requirements.Roughly a dozen people walked maskless into the Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene on Saturday afternoon to protest the grocery’s enforcement of a statewide and local mask requirement, according to a recording of the incident on YouTube.In the nearly 50-minute , posted by the YouTube channel “Breaking the Flaw,” protesters can be seen entering the Cypress Street store and making their way up and down the aisles, confronting shoppers and employees. Another group of protesters appears to have remained outside in the parking lot.Frank “Footloose” Staples, a Manchester resident who founded the group Absolute Defiance, said he was one of the primary organizers of Saturday’s “flash mob.” He said the group has also been responsible for rallies at the Statehouse, protests near Gov. Chris Sununu’s house in Newfields and other supermarket protests.A recent letter to the editor published in The Sentinel — in which a woman describes being harassed in the market for pulling down her mask to interact with her infant — was a factor in the protest but not what originally inspired it, according to Staples. He said the group takes issue with the degree to which mask mandates are enforced at the store.“The Governor’s [Emergency Order] #74 has numerous exemptions in it that businesses are willfully ignoring,” Staples said in a text Sunday evening. “Part 5 &amp; 6 of order 74 are about exemptions for the masks.”Co-op General Manager Michael Faber said he was sorry that the situation with the woman and her baby escalated but also said he was proud of the work the store employees have done over the last year.“We’ve worked hard to demonstrate our care for the community during this challenging time,” he said, “and we’re committed to continuing that work ahead.”Mask mandates have been in place at both the state and city levels to slow the spread of COVID-19. The virus is believed to be transmitted primarily via respiratory droplets — such as nasal discharge from sneezing — and masks worn over the mouth and nose have been found to limit the spread of those droplets.Ian Freeman, a Keene resident who said he was at the protest but didn’t go inside the store, said he wouldn’t describe Saturday’s protesters as being anti-mask but that their concern had more to do with the idea of being told they must wear one. Some of the people who participated have medical conditions that exempt them from mask requirements, he said.The video of Saturday’s protest shows loud exchanges between the protesters and several shoppers, and one protester confronts an employee, saying that he “stalks babies.”Lt. Benjamin Nugent said Keene police got a call from the co-op at 2:15 p.m. that day and that the incident ended calmly.He said a field report states that when police arrived, there was a small group of people in the store and a larger group outside. Those inside concluded their business — which was to make a purchase — and left. The report then says management asked the protesters outside to leave, and they complied. There were no arrests, Nugent said.In her to the editor, published Feb. 25, Walpole resident Kirsten Anderson said she’d been in the co-op with her four-month-old on Feb. 17 and pulled her mask down to try to calm her baby when he started fussing. She said she was told by an employee to pull her mask back up, and that she complied, but that the “employee continued to follow me around the store and harass me every time I pulled my mask down to communicate with my baby.”She said the interactions triggered her complex post-traumatic stress disorder and that she decided to leave the store. She said she was then confronted by a pair of police officers as she loaded her vehicle, but that they were pleasant to her.In a letter to the editor, sent to The Sentinel March 4, Faber apologized for the incident. He said the store makes face shields available for those who need an alternative to masks, but that Anderson wasn’t properly assisted.“We were focused on safety in this situation and recognize we may not have offered the help this customer needed,” he wrote. “We are truly sorry that the situation escalated to the point that it did, and we are providing training to our staff on how better to de-escalate a situation like this in the future.”Mia Summerson can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1435, or . Follow her on Twitter @MiaSummerson×××Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article._We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!© Copyright 2022 , 60 West Street Keene, NH&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.TopicsSorry, an error occurred.You are logged in&nbsp;Thank you .Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.Check your email for details.Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.×Thank you.Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.Rate:Begins:Ends:Transaction ID:A receipt was sent to your email.This offer is currently unavailable.Close

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.The Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene.Protesters speak with police outside the Monadnock Food Co-op Saturday afternoon, as shown in this video screenshot. Some entered the grocery store wearing no masks to protest the store’s enforcement of mask requirements.The Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene.Protesters speak with police outside the Monadnock Food Co-op Saturday afternoon, as shown in this video screenshot. Some entered the grocery store wearing no masks to protest the store’s enforcement of mask requirements.Roughly a...

Protesters descend on Monadnock Food Co-op over mask mandate

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