Opinion: Fortney supporters intentionally put others at risk at rallies

I’m a county resident and I attended a gathering to raise awareness to Recall Sheriff Adam Fortney last month, June 27th in Lake Stevens. I met with some other Recall supporters and we committed to respect the Fortney supporters; some of us were very polite and friendly, striking up conversations and I even heard a few compliments.

Unfortunately, the Fortney supporters didn’t feel the same. They purposefully moved their rally in order to clash with ours. To be clear, our rally was scheduled at a different place and time than theirs. The majority gathered on the corner with the crosswalk so we had to walk thru them or walk in the road to get to our spots. Few if any were wearing masks. Some Fortney folks even mixed in on our side and tried to intimidate us physically.

Many people witnessed a Fortney supporter refuse to back away from a lady when asked and cough at her. It’s worth mentioning that the cases of Covid-19 in Lake Stevens went from 10 to 153 that week, without an increase in testing, according to the Snohomish County Health District. As all of this occurred, we saw Sheriff Fortney with his supporters, completely disregarding our safety.