Anti-mask protesters heckle Lamont again
For the second straight day, a small group of anti-mask protesters sought to interrupt Gov. Ned Lamont Thursday during a news conference to announce a development project near the Hartford Line commuter railroad.
As Lamont started speaking at the opening of a new, 160-unit apartment complex near the Windsor Locks train station, a protester shouted, “Impeach Lamont!”
Lamont ignored the group during a speech that lasted 4 minutes and 25 seconds.
After the event ended, Lamont said, “The irony is here we are opening up a building that has been shut down for 30 or 40 years, and these guys are protesting that we’re not reopening Connecticut, which is false.”
One of the protesters held a Trump 2020 flag, and another carried an American flag. Some wore masks, while others did not.
Thursday’s news conference was held to celebrate the completion of a $62 million project to redevelop the former Montgomery Mill into apartments. The complex, within walking distance of the train station, is 96% occupied and includes 65 units reserved for low-income
tenants. Some residents of the building are earning more than $100,000 per year, while others earn little in the mixed-income development.
The development created 264 jobs and $92 million in economic activity, officials said. Work will begin on a refurbished train station — essentially adjacent to the complex’s parking lot —
next year on the west side of the nearby Windsor Locks Canal.
Public opinion polls have shown strong support for Lamont’s handling of the pandemic, but critics — some of whomnowrefer to him as “King Ned” — have argued that the governor has amassed too much power since declaring a public health emergency in March that
was recently extended through February. Protesters have complained that Lamont and the executive branch have far more power than legislators in a government that has three equal branches.