Ohio Republicans are Setting Their Masks on Fire to Celebrate the Expiration of State Health Orders

In honor of the expiring health orders: pic.twitter.com/BxqkgeH4MA

— Attorney General Dave Yost (@Yost4Ohio) June 2, 2021

That's Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who is now recovered from his December bout with Covid-19, crouching in his backyard and setting a blue surgical mask aflame after dousing it with lighter fluid.

The video, which Yost said was an homage to Jimi Hendrix, (who famously set his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop festival in 1967), commemorates the expiration of Ohio's Covid-19 health orders. Republicans have opposed these orders, which were initially instituted under the direction of former state health director Amy Acton, with various levels of hostility throughout the pandemic.

Requiring Ohioans to wear masks indoors was seen by many as an unconstitutional infringement of bodily autonomy. The sunset of Ohio's masked era, then, marks the dawn of freedom for candidates like Josh Mandel.

"FREEDOM," the Republican Senate candidate captioned a video posted this morning of his attempt to burn his face mask in what appears to be a basement stairwell.

FREEDOM 😷🔥 pic.twitter.com/EfJlH18BqA

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) June 2, 2021

Very cool trend.

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