In his daily COVID-19 press briefing on Tuesday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear addressed an event that occurred over the weekend, where protestors hung an effigy of him in a tree by the Governor’s Mansion during a Second Amendment rally in Frankfort.
The rally, described as an event “to educate and inspire everyone today to be more like the original American Patriots who would not stand for their God given right to protect themselves and their loved ones to be taken away by tyrants!,” was held at the Kentucky State Capitol on Sunday, May 24. The effigy of Beshear bore a note around its neck with the Latin phrase “sic semper tyrannis,” or “thus always to tyrants.”
It’s the phrase John Wilkes Booth reportedly shouted after he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln and it’s been commonly used, essentially, to infer that leaders who have overstepped their bounds will get what’s coming to them… death.
During his briefing, Gov. Beshear explained that making the decision to move his family to the Governor’s Mansion — the first governor to move in with family full-time in more than 30 years — was challenging. In addition to the daily logistical changes, he was worried about how other kids within the community would treat his 9- and 10-year-old children, but their safety wasn’t something that crossed his mind.
“I worried about a number of things. How would living in the community — with their dad as governor — affect my kids? What would it feel like to live in a house where people toured several days each week?” Gov. Beshear said. “One thing I never thought about, never questioned, was their personal safety. While I worried kids might be mean to them from time to time, I did not consider they might be bullied or heckled by adults.”
He also brought to light the politicians and officeholders who have encouraged the behavior of those participating in the rally, saying, “You cannot fan the flames and condemn the fire.”
Beshear noted that his administration had offered the demonstrators a drive-up and drive-through protesting permit, but the organizers declined. He also described how a right-wing militia group marched onto the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion.
“At the demonstration, a right-wing militia group called the 3 Percenters left the front of the capitol and walked through and across all of the barriers at the Governor’s Mansion, where they say it is no longer open to the public, they walked up and stood on the front porch and there, just a windowpane away from where my kids play, the mob chanted and heckled,” he said. “Thankfully, my kids weren’t there that day.”
Beshear’s overall message was that these acts wouldn’t intimidate him.
“I owe it to the people of Kentucky to not bow to terror, but keep doing what’s right for our citizens,” he said. “Living my faith means I have to face adversity without losing my values.”
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This article appears in May 6 – Jun 14, 2020.