‘Something to think about’
Casey Whalen, the YouTube activist behind North Idaho Exposed, is preparing for healthy crowds at Saturday’s daylong Liberate America, a free event at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.
Courtesy of Casey Whalen
Saturday’s Liberate America raises awareness through conservative voice
Casey Whalen said Liberate America will be an exercise in unity.
“The whole idea,” Whalen told The Press, “I thought of it five or six weeks ago. I wanted to bring people together to show the nation we’re united. Right now, we’re very, very divided. This will be an opportunity to change that.”
Whalen, the local activist behind the right-leaning watchdog group North Idaho Exposed, spent those last five or six weeks organizing a who’s who of conservative speakers into a lineup interspersed with musicians for a daylong event at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds Saturday.
“My hope is to give people something to think about and something to do when they go home to their families,” Whalen said. “It’s an opportunity I think people will enjoy.”
Liberate America will feature prominent — and sometimes controversial — speakers, including Ammon Bundy. Bundy spearheaded a 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, an event that led to his arrest, trial and ultimate acquittal.
Washington State House Rep. Matt Shea will also be a featured speaker. Shea was suspended from the House Republican Caucus after an investigation found he helped plan and participated in three acts of domestic terrorism, including the Malheur occupation. He declined to file for re-election this year.
Idaho State House Rep. Heather Scott will also speak at Liberate America. Scott (R-Blanchard) recently came under fire by downplaying the impact of COVID-19, and she has recently warned against contact tracing’s invasive dangers to the citizenry.
“(Government intervention) has been on everyone’s minds since this all began,” Whalen said. “Contact tracing, going into homes and disrupting families, they’re all important topics right now. We’ve kind of ruined a lot of small businesses and a lot of families over this. Was it worth it? I don’t think so, especially when you look at such low (infection) numbers here.”
In total, 15 speakers are scheduled to present. Caleb Collier and Rachael Emery are scheduled to emcee. Collier is a regional advocate for the John Birch Society, and Emery runs the northern chapter of Health Freedom Idaho.
Whalen said there will be food, activities for kids, and an auction, too. Proceeds are going to the Jeanette Finicum legal fund.
Finicum is the widow of Robert LaVoy Finicum, who was killed by law enforcement during the Malheur standoff. Whalen said the fund was started to clear her late husband’s name.
Whalen said the North Idaho Militia will provide security for the event.
Liberate America is free to the public, begins at noon and runs through 10 p.m.
This story has been updated to reflect that the Lightfoot Militia will not provide security for the event.