Downtown Sarasota hosted Freedom Fest at Five Points Park today, drawing an estimated 100 attendees advocating for "medical freedom" and expressing vocal opposition to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is in town to give two talks at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The event featured live music, speeches and outreach from local anti-vaccine advocates and conservative community leaders.

The event was organized by Michelle Pozzie, a Republican activist and former candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, and sponsored by Venice's We the People Health & Wellness Center. Many participants also gathered outside the Van Wezel before Fauci's morning talk, and some protesters heckled attendees as they lined up to go inside, shouting slogans like "Lock Fauci up" and holding signs like "Fauci's lies cost lives." Among the demonstrators were members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group.

The timing of the festival—announced after Fauci’s engagement was publicized—led to speculation that the overlap was deliberate. The event’s official website featured anti-Fauci messaging and volunteers handed out free T-shirts with profane slogans targeting the White House's former chief medical adviser and longtime public health official.

Florida surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo was among today's featured speakers. He delivered remarks in line with the positions of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other speakers called for grassroots organizing, the end of water fluoridation and resistance to pharmaceutical companies and federal public health agencies.

Here's a look at this morning's crowd: