After rumors about a coming protest that would shut down highways nationwide began circulating on social media platforms like TikTok, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said anyone found intentionally blocking highways in the county would be arrested.
The protest, dubbed the "Patriot Shutdown," would involve truck drivers rallying together on a planned stretch of highway to slow and block traffic flows in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates by employers.
"I want to be perfectly clear," Deters wrote in a statement. "Anyone who attempts to shut down the highways in Hamilton County will be removed from their vehicles, charged with felony disrupting public services and they will go to jail. To those who claim to be supportive of law enforcement -- law enforcement is not with you. This would pose a serious danger for our first responders and the community at large."
Deters added that, while he is supportive of the First Amendment right to protest, protesting in this form is "not lawful and it is reckless."
The Patriot Shutdown protests have varied on planned timing and location, with many alleging they'll take place on Sept. 27.
