(CNN) On her day off from working at a Covid-19 unit in an Arizona hospital, ICU nurse Lauren Leander threw on a pair of clean scrubs and headed to an anti-lockdown protest at the state Capitol.

She was determined to be a voice for her patients through silence.

Leander, a Banner Health nurse of five years, joined an intimate group of healthcare workers on Monday to counter protest at the Capitol, where people gathered to urge the governor to reopen the state.

Standing up straight, her arms crossed and face mask on, Leander stood on the Capitol steps, with a handful of healthcare workers lined up by her side. She said she only spoke if someone encroached on her personal space, despite people raising their voices at her.

"It was heated, people were very fired up about what they had to say," she said. "A lot of the top comments we got were about us being fake nurses, there was a huge majority of them that still believe this virus is fake, that it's a hoax and not real at all. They were convinced that we're fake nurses and that's why we weren't talking."

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