Beginning in early April 2020, there were protests in several U.S. states against government-imposed lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States."Coronavirus: Anti-Lockdown Protests Grow Across US". BBC News. 17 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020. The protests, mostly organized by conservative groups and individuals, decried the economic and social impact of stay-at-home orders, business closures, and restricted personal movement and association, and demanded that their respective states be "re-opened" for normal business and personal activity.

The protests made international news and were widely condemned as unsafe and ill-advised, although some political figures expressed support for the protests. They ranged in size from a few hundred people to a few thousand, and spread on social media with encouragement from U.S. President Donald Trump.

By May 1, 2020, there had been demonstrations in more than half of the states; many governors began to take steps to lift the restrictions as daily new infections began decreasing due to social distancing measures.

Background The anti-lockdown protests were first spawned with a nationwide call in mid-March by an online Facebook page by the name of "American Revolution 2.0" and a meme that went viral. The page quickly grew to over 100,000 users in less than a week and then was removed from Facebook for violations of terms of service. The group then set up 53 Facebook groups named "AR2" to run protests at the capitol of every state (as well as Los Angeles and Chicago). This page and the many groups were led by Naperville, Illinois native Josh Ellis. On April 30, 2020, at 11:00 p.m. CST all 53 groups were deleted simultaneously from Facebook for violating terms and conditions. Due to the widespread notoriety and media coverage of the May 1 planned protest, many other groups started smaller protests prior to the date.

One of the first protests to take place was in Michigan on April 15, 2020. It was organized via a Facebook group called "Operation Gridlock", which was created by the Michigan Conservative Coalition. A spokesman for the Michigan Conservative Coalition encouraged groups in other states to copy the Operation Gridlock wording and templates. Protesters in numerous other states said they were inspired by Michigan, and they used Michigan's material on their own websites, Facebook groups, and Reddit pages to promote their protests. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer falsely claimed that the Michigan Freedom Fund was a party to this event and that it was funded in part by the DeVos family, but a spokesman said the family had nothing to do with the protests.

The Trump campaign declined to answer whether it was directly involved with organizing the protest in Michigan, but key protest organizers who did identify themselves were Meshawn Maddock, the wife of Republican state representative Matt Maddock and a member of the national advisory board for Women for Trump, and Marian Sheridan, who serves as a vice chair on the Michigan Republican Party, both founding members of Michigan Conservative Coalition. The protest in Washington State was organized by a county Republican Party, and speakers included three Republican state legislators. FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group associated with the Tea Party movement, published a "#ReOpenAmerica Planning Guide".

Protesters opposed the shelter-in-place orders in their states for various reasons. Many said they wanted businesses reopened so they could go back to work. Many others displayed pro-Trump banners, signs, and MAGA hats. Still others insisted the lockdowns were a violation of their constitutional rights. One militia leader told a reporter, "Re-open my state or we will re-open it ourselves." The anger driving the protests was called "both real and manufactured", with conservative groups engaging in astroturfing via centralized organization backed by anonymous donors.

The reopen protests were generally small, with protester numbers ranging from a few dozen to the low hundreds; the first protest in Michigan drew twenty thousand protestors, as estimated by the state police. Protesters included mainstream Republicans, but also far-right groups including Proud Boys and armed militia movement supporters. A large number of "anti-vax" advocates have attended, and some have been the organizers of local protests. Ben, Chris and Aaron Dorr, three guns-rights activist brothers, are the organizers of protests in several Midwestern states.

Historians have noted that the protests are similar to those who grew tired of restrictions from the 1918 pandemic.

The ReAwaken America Tour began in the spring of 2021 as Health and Freedom rallies to protest COVID-19 restrictions. The events would later be renamed and sponsored by Charismatic Christian magazine Charisma News and expand to include themes of COVID-19 misinformation, QAnon, election denialism, and spiritual warfare. , dozens of events have been held around the country.

After the murder of George Floyd on May 25, many of the Facebook groups created to organize protests over COVID-19 expanded their focus to attack the protests organized by Black Lives Matter.

By state Midwest

Illinois

On May 1, thousands of anti-lockdown protesters displaying the Confederate Flag, a sign written in German that read "work will set you free", Nazi symbols and signs with slogans like "Give me liberty or give me COVID-19" gathered for a Re-open Illinois rally in Springfield organized by American Revolution 2.0. Protesters and counter-protesters met in Chicago and Springfield where two arrests were made for disorderly conduct.

Indiana

Approximately 250 people gathered in front of the Governor's Mansion in Indianapolis on April 18, 2020, to protest Governor Eric Holcomb's stay-at-home order. The protesters did not follow social distancing guidelines, although some wore face masks. The protesters called for the governor to appear and explain himself, and said they were willing to be arrested if necessary.

Michigan

Michigan was the site of the largest of the "re-open" protests. The first confirmed case of coronavirus was recognized in Michigan on March 10, 2020. On April 15, the day of the protest, Michigan had at least 28,059 confirmed cases—the third highest number of cases in the United States—and 1,921 deaths had been attributed to the disease in the state. Metropolitan Detroit had been pronounced a "hot spot". Initial state actions to limit spread of the virus included closure of all K-12 schools, closure of bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues, and a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people. On March 24 a statewide stay-at-home order was issued which limited non-essential travel and ordered all non-essential business services and operations to close. The order was extended in early April with additional restrictions included.

On April 15, 2020, as estimated by the state police, 20,000 people took part in a protest they called Operation Gridlock in the area surrounding the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Most protestors remained in their vehicles, jamming the streets around the capitol building, although around 150 protested on the capitol lawn. The protest lasted eight hours. The protest caused delays during a shift change at Sparrow Hospital. Police described the protesters as respectful, with most trying to maintain social distancing; no arrests were made.

Protesters complained of loss of work and other economic hardship caused by the state government's coronavirus response. Some felt that if they were not sick, that they should have the freedom to continue with their normal routine. Others claimed violation of their civil liberties or expressed opposition to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's administration. Some protesters lived in more rural areas of Michigan that had not seen as many coronavirus cases as the cities of Detroit or Flint.

On April 30, a second protest organized as part of the American Revolution 2.0 national protest occurred when hundreds of protesters, many carrying firearms, gathered at the Michigan Capitol. Many protesters were able to enter the building. The demonstration had assistance organizing locally by the conservative group American Patriot Council. The protest was much smaller than the one on April 15, but the show of firearms and the violent tone of some of the signs indicated that things were changing. Some protesters compared the Governor to Adolf Hitler while children danced in masks of Donald Trump and Barack Obama on the steps of the Capitol. Governor Whitmer extended the state of emergency regardless.

On May 14, more armed protesters, organized by the group Michigan United for Liberty, gathered outside the Michigan State Capitol. The organization's Facebook group was deleted over death threats against Governor Whitmer and a fight broke out over a doll tied to a noose at the protest. The Michigan Legislature closed its scheduled session to avoid the possibility of another armed confrontation inside the chamber.

On May 20, seven hairdressers were ticketed for cutting hair on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol, for allegedly violating their licenses. The charges were later dropped.

A peaceful demonstration of prayers organized by the religious non-profit Transformation Michigan was performed on the Capitol lawn on May 28.

Minnesota

On April 17, about 800 protesters gathered outside the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul for a Liberate Minnesota protest encouraged by President Trump's tweets.

On April 19, Sven Sundgaard, a meteorologist at NBC affiliate KARE11, reposted a quote from a Rabbi Michael Latz accusing the right-wing protesters of being "white nationalist Nazi sympathizer gun fetishist miscreants" on his personal Facebook page. Sundgaard was subsequently fired for "ethics violations".

On May 11, a few dozen people gathered outside Albert Lea City Hall for a "prayer protest" in response to the pandemic lockdown.

On May 23, more than 200 attended what was supposed to be the reopening of a tavern in Albany. After attorneys obtained an injunction to prevent the reopening, the crowd became a protest. Attendees harassed a reporter for wearing a mask and intentionally coughed in public while not wearing masks.

On June 25, a couple wore Nazi flags in lieu of masks on their faces while shopping at a grocery store in Marshall.

North Dakota

Even though Governor Doug Burgum did not issue a stay-at-home order, about 150 protesters gathered outside the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck to demand the state government reopen concert venues, movie theaters, gyms, nail salons, massage parlors and barber shops.

Ohio

Protests began in Ohio on April 9, with about 75 gathering outside of the Ohio Statehouse to protest Governor Mike DeWine's stay-at-home order. A second protest on April 13 grew to a group of 200–300 people.

The following weekend, protests began on April 17, with dozens protesting outside the east side of the Statehouse. The next day, April 18, the protests grew to hundreds. Protesters carried signs with slogans lamenting the loss of liberties for the sake of safety, as well as signs critical of state officials, and demanded that the state be immediately reopened.

The governor said that he would not interfere with the protests, provided they adhered to social distancing guidelines. Photographs from the protests on April 18 indicated that not all protesters had been honoring those guidelines; however, many of them stayed in cars.

On May 2, a small group of anti-lockdown protesters in Bexley patrolled the streets outside the private residence of Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton. The Bexley City Council briefly considered a local ordinance banning protests outside Acton's home, but ultimately decided against the measure.

Wisconsin