'Reckless' COVID Anti-Vaxx Protestors Threatened With Jail In This State

Truck drivers that protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates by blocking highways in Ohio can go to jail for doing so one county prosecutor has warned.

"Let me be clear — if you attempt to shut down a highway, you will be prosecuted. I don’t care what you’re protesting or how mad you are," Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters warned on Twitter over the weekend.

“The 1st Amendment does not give you a free pass to impede emergency services & put law enforcement at risk,” he added.

The warning came after drivers were expected to protest on Monday as part of "Patriot Shutdown," a call on social media to block specific highway mile markers in an effort to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates by employers.

Deters, a Republican, said that those caught blocking traffic will face charges.

"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 said in a second statement. "I have always been supportive of a citizen’s First Amendment right to protest. But, this is not lawful and it is reckless. It will not be tolerated."

Ohio’s State Highway Patrol said that they were monitoring the protests but as of Monday morning, they saw no signs just yet that they would take place in the area. A spokesman for the agency said that there “are no known issues at this time.” The Cincinnati Police Department is also monitoring the speculated protests.

Anger at vaccine mandates has been widespread across the country even as the highly infectious COVID-19 Delta variant continues to spread.

President Joe Biden announced a pair of executive orders on Sept. 9, being developed by the Department of Labor, that would require mandatory vaccinations for companies that have 100 or more employees or test employees at least once a week. It is estimated by the White House that the requirement will affect over 80 million employees in the private sector.

Ohio's Department of Health's COVID-19 vaccine dashboard shows that 53.76% of the state's population is vaccinated, amounting to over 6.2 million residents.