OLYMPIA -- A protest Sunday at the state Capitol organized by a Bremerton man drew thousands in a call to end Gov. Jay Inslee's "stay at home" order.

Tyler Miller, a Navy veteran who works at the Trident Refit Facility at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, said he was motivated by what he sees as an "erosion on individual liberties" by restricting gatherings, and organized the demonstration.

"We have the right to get together," the 39-year-old said.

Estimates of the size of the crowd varied between a few hundred to several thousand, according to various media reports.

Miller said he encouraged fellow demonstrators to take precautions, including social distancing, and that he didn't want people to disregard public health warnings. He said the crowd included families and even those older who have been determined by health officials to be high risk, but chose to be there because "liberty needs to be defended."

"They knew the risk and they assumed that risk," said Miller, a Kitsap County Republican Party precinct committee officer who also serves on the executive board of the state Republican Party.

Miller said he would've called off the rally if Inslee had rescinded the "stay at home" order "to acknowledge and reflect the fact that you have no authority whatsoever to place restrictions on the constitutional freedoms," he wrote on Facebook.

He said the goal of the event was to meet one another in gathering momentum to fight the "stay at home" order.

"I wanted that hour to be making personal connections, networking, and just enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon," he said.

At the rally, Miller spoke to attendees through a bullhorn: “We cannot have a government and a governor that does not listen to his own citizens.”

Inslee responded on Facebook Sunday by urging people to stay home.

"I support free speech," he wrote. "But crowd counts or speeches won’t determine our course. This isn’t about politics. It can only be about doing what is best for the health of all Washingtonians."

There were 11,802 positive cases including 624 deaths due to COVID-19 in the state through Friday, according to the state's Department of Health. In Kitsap, there have been 138 cases and one death reported.

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