By Michelle Mears 

RIVERSIDE COUNTY -  City and county officials in Riverside are raising red flags with the growing police state during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week the Riverside County Health Department released and promoted the use of an app to “snitch” on their fellow neighbors who they feel are not practicing social distancing. This domestic surveillance and use of police to enforce health recommendations led the Mayor of Murrieta, Gene Wunderlich to write a letter of concern to County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries. 

Wunderlich posted on Facebook, “On Saturday I wrote a lengthy letter to our County Supervisors titled, “'The 'snitch' app and civil disobedience’. This morning I received the following reply from District 1 Supervisor Kevin Jeffries. I appreciate his candor - this is why I support him.”

The Riverside County Health Department informed the public on Thursday about RivCoMobile, which has a “Coronavirus” feature on the landing page. This mobile page can be used to make anonymous reports about possible violations of orders. Under the guise of health, the county of Riverside is urging residents to tattle on each other. 

These violations according to the press release, “May include the operation of nonessential businesses, unauthorized gatherings, and failure by essential businesses to comply with health orders such as facial coverings and social distancing for staff or patrons.

Wunderlich is not alone in his concerns over the totalitarian tactics.

Jeffries wrote, "Thank you for your email regarding the health “snitch” app and/or the religious services. I received similar emails and social media questions from fellow residents about these matters so I am responding to everyone with this letter. First – My heart sunk with disbelief last week when I first learned about the release and promotion of the snitch-app by health officials.  I had the very same gut reaction that many of you had – This is NOT what America stands for! Government sponsored surveillance and reporting by and of fellow citizens to government authorities!  That path, however, initially well-intentioned by overwhelmed health officials has set us on a terrible and regrettable course that brings with it early images of a dark past in human and American history.  

In my specific case, this is not something I was forewarned was even in the works, nor did the Riverside County Board of Supervisors vote on the matter. I first learned of its release minutes before it went public. Unfortunately, this ill-advised tool was falling on the heels of another poorly contrived regulation whereby all last week I was working behind the scenes to reverse what I believe is an unconstitutional regulation to prohibit people of faith from participating in worship while remaining safely inside their vehicle(s) at their church parking lot. I won’t go into all the gory details  - but we (several of us on the board) obtained a short lived victory late on Friday when the health regulation was modified to allow such services to occur – but as we regretfully later learned – was modified only for this past weekend. So the constitutional battle over that fundamental right is back to the front burner. This week I also intend to take up the “snitch-app” debacle with our emergency coordination team and county CEO. Stay tuned!"

Ali Mazarei who is running for State Assembly wrote, “Very sad that the Riverside County Health Department seems to be taking over as an elected official that is running the County Board of Supervisors. Chairman V Manuel Perez, I did not know we elected Dr Kaiser as Chair. Very sad day indeed, and I am pretty sure lawsuits will be following shortly.”

In a letter to the editor at Patch, Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Lake Elsinore, Bob Magee wrote, “Those of us who still cherish our freedoms and rugged individualism need to be prepared to rise up and push back on the Progressive Agenda…because it has now been shown to be unsustainable.” You can read his entire letter by following this link: https://patch.com/california/lakeelsinore-wildomar/when-social-engineering-becomes-unsustainable