And while she faced those charges in the city - out on the road, the Mennonites gathered under the black flag of "Free Belize" organized their so called "Freedom Drive" into Belize City.
They urged their fellow Mennonites to, quote, "take a stand for freedom," adding, quote, "the time to stand up is now".
Well, that was the theme for Saturday, but police told them it was time to go right back home. The cops blocked the highways in the west and the north, keeping their convoy of heavy duty 4 by 4's out of the city.
The Commissioner told us why - and I caught up with a few who had been stopped at La Democracia:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"These persons have not even applied for a permit to demonstrate, so what we did on Saturday morning, anticipating that they may be defiance to our request, we set up checkpoints at the Tower Hill Bridge and at Mile 31 on the George Price Highway to await those persons who we anticipate will have left from the south, west and the north to go into Belize City from reaching the city and so yes we intercepted a large motorcade at mile 31 on the George Price Highway and likewise at the Tower Hill Bridge in Orange Walk Town and those persons in those motorcades were disallowed from going any further. Again, we know that Belize City is the epicenter of Covid19 right now. Most of the cases we are seeing daily emanates from Belize City and so to have such a large gathering in Belize City at this time is surely nonsensical and putting the lives of innocent people at risk and so it is with that spirit that we prevented those persons from entering the city and I also gave instructions to Mr. Rosado who was on the grounds in Belize City - I was on the George Price Highway and Mr. Vidal was in Orange Walk."
Reporter
"Commissioner of Police has said that the "freedom drive" is illegal. Do you agree?"
Participant
"How is it illegal? Is it illegal to drive on the road with a flag. Protests, we normally have escorts in front leading the protest. There is something going on with this whole thing, why are they trying to stop us for something. We have a right to protest. We have a right to freedom. That's all we want."
Pete Friessen, "Free Belize" Drive
"I wouldn't call it a protest, which is a free drive. We are planning to drive through the city. I know that social gatherings is not allowed, so we weren't really planning to get out of the vehicles, we just going to show the people that we want to fight for our freedom, so I don't see why the cops are trying to stop us."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"What would be your answer to those who say that well in the case of the Mennonites, they were only exercising their constitutionally enshrined freedom of movement, freedom to assembly."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"In section of the constitution which we referred to as the introduction to the bill of rights. It clearly stipulates that we do have certain fundamental rights and freedom as guaranteed under the constitution, but in that same section it also says that these rights are subject to certain limitations. Public health being one of those listed limitations."
Pete Friessen, "Free Belize" Drive
"We are not against vaccination or anything like that. We just want to be able to choose for ourselves."
Reporter
"Again, we are doing the interview in your car. Why is that?"
Pete Friessen, "Free Belize" Drive
"Because we were told to stay in our vehicles, if not they would arrest us."
Reporter
"Were you surprised that this happened?"
Pete Friessen, "Free Belize" Drive
"No. We expected a lot of errors and what not, but we went for it anyway, because the time to stand up is now."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"It cannot be that we must exercise our individual rights at the expense of the greater good of the society or the community. It cannot be that one individual person right must trump the rights of humanity, that if these people believe that the covid19 regulation repugnance the provisions of the constitution, then there is a legal recourse that they can take, to challenge the regulation in the supreme court."
