Elected officials wielding their police powers have used them to release real criminals from jails and prisons and ordered the arrests of people like this Malibu stand-up paddleboarder and this guy (above) who deigned to step on the sands of Moonlight Beach during a protest in Encinitas, California.

The woman who organized Saturday’s protest outside the yellow police tape of the foggy San Diego County beach has also been referred to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.

She also organized a previous protest where some participants did not observe social distancing.

You know, social distancing like this.

Moonlight Beach and other selected beaches in San Diego County were scheduled to be re-opened on Monday for restricted use, but protest organizer Crista Curtis declared, “I don’t care that they’re opening the beach on Monday, they’re still putting all these restrictions and rules on us as to how we can use them, but this is our beach.”

At least three people were arrested on Saturday during a protest at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. They were cited for violating the stay-at-home order and congregating on a closed beach pic.twitter.com/p8s6Ou0sdV — CBS News 8 (@CBS8) April 25, 2020

You might be saying right now, ‘Well if the beach was opening on Monday, why stage a protest on Saturday?” You could ask the same of the elected officials who ordered police to arrest people on Saturday even though the beach was opening on Monday.

These rules start Monday in the City of SD. REMEMBER: California's Stay Home order is STILL in effect. Beaches, bays and oceans can stay open for limited use ONLY if these rules by public health officials and regional lifeguards are followed. Please stay classy, San Diego. pic.twitter.com/NWi6kMgpau — Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) April 27, 2020

California elected officials have shown us their dark inclinations in this national emergency.

The incident highlights how elected officials throughout California have used this pandemic to exercise unreasonable control and as an excuse to indulge in their worst political instincts.

Governor Gavin Newsom brokered a $1 billion mask purchase – from China(!). Then he refused to give any details of the deal. Next up: buying rope from the Russians.

Newsom is using the pandemic to indulge his penchant for Green New Deal fantasies, installing Tom Steyer as part of a task force to get California working again. The slogan for this group should be, “If you hated living under the pandemic, you’ll really hate living under the Green New Deal!” Failed Governor Gray “Rolling Blackout” Davis is also on the panel.

State officials soon will be sniffing around for President Trump to bail out the already underwater state pension system which has lost more than $1 billion since the pandemic started.

The Los Angeles teachers union pushed back on distance-learning because it’s bad for unions and good for students while at the same time calling for limiting charter schools. After all, schools are about unions and not kids.

In the face of a pandemic-induced depression, many California cities approved minimum wage increases in January over California’s already $13.00-an-hour standard.

The LA County sheriff used his position to free criminals and then bragged about how he did it before the ACLU asked him to.

The same sheriff also closed down gun stores because he didn’t want beginners to shoot looters, which is apparently in the Constitution somewhere.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti announced “snitches get rewards” and encouraged people to report social distancing offenders like his own little Stasi.

SNITCHES GET REWARDS: Mayor Eric Garcetti encourages community members to report businesses violating the Safer at Home order https://t.co/48pgdUvLPj pic.twitter.com/L4JvmSDssp — CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) April 1, 2020

Americans will go only so far to support being shut down from their lives and loved ones. When the data shows that many more people have antibodies to the disease (as researchers have shown in Santa Clara, Los Angeles, and New York), pointing toward a very low death rate, it’s really hard to stomach a stay-at-home order for the young and healthy.

Now look, we know there are reasonable things elected officials can and should do to encourage people not to kill themselves by getting the Wuhan coronavirus, but getting out and getting fresh air isn’t one of them. Just like imposing Green New Deal diktats won’t help get people back to work.

Californians and citizens of other states aren’t as gullible as these elected officials think they are.

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