Townhall has acquired more footage of Paige Cognetti, a Democrat politician who serves as the mayor of Scranton, advancing her COVID reign of terror in July 2020.
WATCH: Another virtual town hall from Paige Cognetti shows that she sought to crack down on fireworks celebrations from those observing American independence during her 2020 COVID reign of terror. pic.twitter.com/ScAZJnEzX3
— Joe Chalfant (@JoeChalfant) April 10, 2026
“We celebrate independence on the Fourth of July, but independence should not mean infringing on the rights of others by doing things that disturb other families and your neighbors,” Cognetti said at a virtual town hall ahead of Independence Day 2020.
Cognetti would go on to rant about fireworks being a “big problem” in both Scranton and Pennsylvania. She further opined over how she did “not understand why people are firing off these fireworks” in the city to celebrate American independence.
Despite her insistence that her citizens cut down on the fireworks usage in her city during COVID, Cognetti was eerily silent as thousands of protesters gathered to attack law enforcement during the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests. And rather than defend law enforcement, she claimed that she and her top law enforcement officials were “engaged in conversations with protesters and activists about best policies moving forward.”
“Paige Cogenti is a corrupt carpetbagger who hates celebrating America and Easter,” RNC Spokesperson Kristen Cianci told Townhall. “She’s out-of-touch and out of her mind if she thinks her actions represent the values of NEPA.”
Cognetti had previously threatened to sic law enforcement onto individuals attending in-person Easter worship services, encouraged citizens to report religious gatherings to the authorities, and stated that she attempted to coerce a religious official into suspended in-person services.
It seems that, for Cognetti, cracking down on gatherings and celebrations only mattered if they targeted Christians and patriots.
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