CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina woman burned a face mask to show her opposition to a state order requiring that residents wear them.
Ashley Smith, the founder of Reopen NC, posted video of herself setting fire to a mask and voicing her opposition of Gov. Roy Cooper’s mask mandate that starts Friday.
“This is another example of just a further nanny state overreach of Gov. Cooper who is spending his resources policing the movements of law abiding North Carolinians,” Smith said.
Smith previously started a "Burn Your Mask Challenge" on social media as state leaders mulled the decision to require masks, WSOC-TV reported.
People in the state will have to wear masks in public places indoors and outdoors when physical distancing is not possible with some exceptions, WSOC-TV reported.
“I don’t see it as immature. I see it as sending a statement,” Smith said previously. “I think it’s extremely selfish to tell someone they have to wear a mask.”
There are 57,538 confirmed cases and 1,305 deaths from the coronavirus in North Carolina, according to The New York Times.