The weekend saw a wave of anti-lockdown protests across the US in Ohio, Michigan and Colorado.

But the notable photo of photographer Alison McClaran came on Sunday from Denver, Colorado. As protesters gathered outside the Capitol stairs and others gathered in their cars to ask the city to reopen its doors for business, healthcare workers stood in the middle of the road, dressed. After spending the past weeks treating Covid-19 patients, they organized a demonstration of their own: they wanted to remind protesters of the importance of lockdown measures.

One protester, in particular, did not like it. She leaned out of her car window, wearing an American flag shirt, and held a sign that read “Land of the Free.” Then she shouted at the protester in scrubs: “This is a free country. This is the land of freedom. Go to China!”

She seemed to express the view that shutting down non-essential services in the United States was equivalent to the actions of a communist state, as she continued, “If you want communism, go to China. Now open up and go to work.”

Anti-lockdown protesters led to the protest in trucks, vans, motorbikes, and buses — even a man protested on horseback, wearing a cowboy hat and holding an American flag. Pictures show protesters wearing Maga hats and while some wear masks, social distancing protocol appears to have been largely ignored. (It is worth noting that the wave of anti-lockdown protests has also been fueled by far-right groups organizing to cynically exploit the time of the crisis.)

Other sources suggest that frontline workers have been praised for taking a stand against the demonstration (a recent Pew Research poll showed that most Americans are concerned about lifting lockdown measures too soon).

According to local reports, some protesters said they believed the government shutdown was part of a broader plan to undermine the economy and hurt the prospects of Donald Trump’s re-election. Others expressed concerns about business closures and the impact of the recession on the livelihoods of local employees.

Colorado, like much of the country, has seen unprecedented job losses as a result of the pandemic, with more than 232 thousand filing for unemployment benefits since mid-March. The pandemic has been responsible for about 400 deaths in the state.