Over the past month, demonstration levels have remained relatively consistent compared to the month prior, though the motivations behind demonstrations have significantly changed. The number of demonstration events in August that focused on the COVID-19 pandemic was more than four times the number reported in July. Meanwhile, demonstrations involving labor and environmental groups — the largest driver behind demonstrations in July — continued in August, but at much lower numbers. Additionally, demonstrations in favor of voting rights spiked during the last week of August, as protesters across the country commemorated the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Finally, militia groups continued holding training events across the country and joined demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions, often leading to violence.
The surge in pandemic-related demonstrations is largely attributable to a significant increase in demonstrations against government restrictions and newly instituted COVID-19 vaccine mandates at workplaces, especially healthcare centers. The largest share of anti-restriction demonstrations involved calls for an end to mask mandates in schools, as students across the country return to in-person learning. Demonstrations in support of mask mandates also increased over the period, although at a lesser rate than anti-mask demonstrations (for more on COVID-19 demonstration trends during the first year of the pandemic, see A National Emergency: How COVID-19 is Fueling Unrest in the US).
Demonstrations against the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine mandates account for a significant portion of demonstrations focused on the pandemic. Many of these demonstrations occurred outside healthcare facilities and hospitals, occasionally involving the participation of medical staff and other hospital employees. These come as several major hospital systems and state governments institute vaccine mandates for all employees, following approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Pfizer vaccine (Fierce Healthcare, 1 September 2021). Anti-vaccine demonstrations also took place at businesses, including at restaurants and major corporations, and on university campuses as universities and major corporations institute vaccine mandates. Additionally, demonstrations against the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine mandates occurred outside government buildings amid the spread of misinformation about government motives for vaccination drives, vaccine mandates for all citizens, and exaggerated fears related to vaccination (CNBC, 4 September 2021).
The Cancel the Rents movement also engaged in increased demonstration activity towards the end of August, particularly in New York, the San Francisco Bay area in California, and Washington, DC as the Supreme Court ended the national eviction moratorium on 26 August (New York Times, 26 August 2021). Demonstrators called for either the renewal or continuation — depending on the local situation — of eviction bans amid the pandemic and for improved living conditions for unhoused populations.
A subset of demonstrations in August focused on ensuring access to voting and increased equality for non-white populations following the passage or proposal of restrictive laws throughout much of the South. On 28 August, the 58-year anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech brought tens of thousands of people, including various union groups, to Washington, DC to commemorate the speech and the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Similar demonstrations took place on the same day in at least 19 cities across 15 states. Throughout the month, demonstrators also called for the passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which together would reform the American voting system (New York Magazine, 25 August 2021).
The withdrawal of American military and diplomatic personnel from Afghanistan on 30 August, ending a nearly 20-year engagement in the country (Reuters, 30 August 2021, New York Times, 18 August 2021), also sparked some demonstrations across the US. Demonstrations were primarily organized by Afghan-Americans calling on the US to expedite immigration for Afghan refugees, while also protesting against the Taliban. Despite the high-profile end to the generational war, demonstrations focused on Afghanistan accounted for a small proportion of total demonstrations in August, with only about three dozen events reported.
Environmental activists, meanwhile, demonstrated over a wide variety of topics last month, ranging from various local construction projects to climate change more largely. The Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline continues to attract significant environmental and Indigenous concern as demonstrators, including Native American groups such as the Chippewa and Anishinaabe, continue to demonstrate against the project (The Guardian, 10 August 2021). Demonstrators claim that the pipeline will cause environmental damage and that it violates the treaty rights of Native American tribes, including the Anishinaabe (MPR News, 16 July 2021). Demonstrations against the pipeline continue to incur police intervention at elevated rates, with arrests reported at several peaceful, albeit disruptive, demonstrations against the project.
In the last week of August, demonstrations against Texas Senate Bill 8, which effectively outlaws abortions, were held in Texas and other states as Planned Parenthood organized a ‘National Day of Action’ on 1 September, the same day that Governor Abbott signed the law into effect (New York Times, 1 September 2021; Texas Tribune, 31 August 2021). Demonstrators rallied against the law itself — which bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy without exception, a window of time during which most women often do not yet know they are pregnant — and also against the Supreme Court’s five to four refusal to block the ban (Supreme Court of the United States, 1 September 2021). The law deputizes civilians to, and prohibits government officials from, enforcing the abortion ban, hence bypassing restrictions set in the landmark Roe v. Wade case against undue interference from the state in abortion access — a provision that is likely to lead to vigilantism (Texas Tribune, 3 September 2021). While most abortion-related demonstration events were reported in Texas, demonstrations against the bill were also reported in Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont as well.
Militia groups participated in numerous training and demonstration events over the course of the last five weeks. The American Contingency group held pistol training events in at least 14 states, including in Alaska — marking the first reported militia event in the state. Following general inactivity after the 6 January storming of the US Capitol, the III% Security Force militia and its affiliated movements resumed activity by participating in demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions. Other militias, including the California State Militia and the white nationalist group Patriot Front, participated in similar demonstrations against COVID-19 restrictions. Members of the Proud Boys were involved in multiple violent demonstrations in California and Oregon, the majority of which were against abortions. Proud Boys also participated in numerous anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations. Every demonstration event in which Proud Boys participated throughout August in Oregon and California turned violent or destructive, including one violent demonstration that involved an exchange of gunfire. Nationally, nearly 50% of all demonstration events in which Proud Boys participated included violence, accounting for nearly 70% of all violent demonstrations in August (for more, see ACLED’s Actor Profile on the Proud Boys). Multiple militias and militant social movements including the Proud Boys, Boogaloo Boys, Three Percenters, III% Security Force, QAnon adherents, and the Virginia Citizens Defense League participated in armed demonstrations last month (for more, see ACLED’s joint report with Everytown for Gun Safety on armed demonstrations and ACLED’s Actor Profile on the Boogaloo Boys).
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