WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. — Webster Groves city leaders are responding to an anti-vaccine misinformation group marching in their Fourth of July parade, with members holding a sign to "expose COVID fraud” and another calling to "investigate Dr. [Anthony] Fauci" for “funding gain-of-function bio-weapon research.”
“I was quite surprised that they were there,” fellow parade participant Rev. Wendy Bruner — who was not with the anti-vaccine group — said.
A leader at Peace United Church of Christ, Bruner marched at the Saturday parade in a group comprised of members from four Webster churches under the name WG Churches for Justice. She said she was ahead of the anti-vaccine group in line, unaware they were there until afterward when someone gave her a pamphlet with their information.
“Lots of people who are in this community have been on the front line. Nurses, doctors, ER professionals. All those folks who have been doing the work, and so I just imagine that they were upset and frustrated that somebody was in the parade saying we should not get vaccinations when they have seen what happens to people with COVID,” Bruner said.
The group registered with parade organizers under the name “Keys to a Healthy Gut,” and was assigned the 34th position in the parade lineup. However, members of another group, Missouri Stands Up, also posted on social media that they would be marching, trying to recruit more members.
It appears both groups then marched together.
The parade controversy overlaps with concerns about Missouri's worsening coronavirus case counts. The state ranked third in the nation for new cases as of July 6. St. Louis hospitals are sending ventilators to Springfield as hospitalizations spike.
Video of the Webster Groves Community Days parade — posted second-hand on TikTok — already has 114,000 views, plus thousands of likes and comments.
Representatives for the City say they had no choice but to let the group participate, giving 5 On Your Side a statement that reads in part: "As a government-sponsored parade, the City cannot regulate the content or message of the parade participants. This has been the repeated advice of counsel, consistent with the volume of case law that prohibits government from regulating the content of a person or group."
The message from City Manager Dr. Marie Peoples continues, “Action by the City to regulate the content of the parade units would face the strictest scrutiny in court and would probably result in untold costs of taxpayer resources in litigation that would likely be lost.”
Bruner said she threw away the group's pamphlet, instead preaching a message of safety and science.
“I really respect the science around COVID and the vaccinations,” Bruner said.
5 On Your Side reached out to Missouri Stands Up members on social media and through email but did not receive a response.
Webster Groves City Council is scheduled to hold an online public meeting at 6:30. The city had received 23 public comment statements as of the 4 PM deadline.