Act 1 took place on November 20. Having just won control of the state legislature, a group of Republicans asserted their commitment to freedom by gathering indoors, mostly maskless, at a ski resort. One of them, a realtor named Dick Hinch, lauded Republicans who refused to wear masks as patriots and the “freedom group.” Admiringly, they asked Hinch to be their leader. He accepted. Act 2 took place on December 1. Hinch, facing fire from Democrats and the press, admitted that “a very small number” of Republicans who had attended the ski resort gathering had come down with COVID-19. The following
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