At the end of July, Republican Rep. Chris Johansen of Aroostook County, Maine, was reportedly recorded by Mariner News contributor Crash Barry saying, “Listen up, I’ve got COVID and I’m really, really sick and I just don’t have time to talk to you today.” It was news because Johansen, along with his wife Cindy, have been very vocal and demonstratively anti-mask and anti-vaccine. Johansen’s anti-science stance led to him and six other Republican representatives getting stripped of their committee assignments after entering the Maine State House without wearing masks “in violation of legislative rules that go beyond state recommendations” back in May.
On Aug. 10, Cindy Johansen reportedly passed away after struggling for almost a month with the virus. Her death was confirmed by The Daily Beast and the Maine Republican Party. A week after her passing, Chris Johansen appeared at an anti-vaxxer mandate demonstration in Augusta. As various reporters covering this demonstration noted, Johansen did not wear a mask. Whether or not Johansen has been cleared of COVID-19 or is safe outside of quarantine is not known. Barry has reported that neither Cindy nor Chris were vaccinated before contracting COVID-19. Aroostook County, like many counties across the country, has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the last few weeks.
Johansen’s social media feed is filled with posts of memes like one with two mice, one asking the other, “Did you get the vaccine yet?” and the other responding, “No, they’re still testing it on the humans.”
Cindy Johansen was the corresponding secretary-officer for the Aroostook County Republicans. Johansen, when contacted by the Beast, denied he himself was ever sick, saying: “All of these reports are false.” Though when contacted by the Press Herald back in July, he reportedly said, “I’m not doing well. I’m not feeling well, and I’m not talking to people right now.”
While her husband did not release information about either his wife’s illness or her passing, his Facebook page gave clues to the sad situation as it unfolded. On Aug. 5, he wrote about his wife not being allowed to talk, needing to show an ability to breathe on her own, and her need to be sedated. This was likely during periods where they had put her on a ventilator and then were trying to see if she could practice breathing on her own while they kept the ventilator on her. On Aug. 6, Johansen posted on his Facebook page: “Yesterday was not such a good day. No good news and one or two minor set backs. Will talk to the Doctor again this afternoon.” The last post on Johansen’s Facebook feed is dated Aug. 7. Johansen writes: “It was all bad news today. Cindy has suffered several major set backs.”
Cindy’s Facebook page had a profile image of a horse with a green circle around it. Inside of the circle was written, “I don’t care if you’ve had your vaccine.” A lot of her feed was dedicated to caring for horses and a farm. She wasn’t a fan of Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger or Black Lives Matter. She posted an image on July 4 of a flag reading: “TRUMP 2024, I’ll be back.”
On July 16 she posted, “Day three ... Feeling like I'm going to pass out. Have passed out on garage floor, legs were like rubber. got to get me some ginger ale...” She mentioned that she had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and asthma.
The Maine Beacon reported that on Tuesday, Chris Johansen appeared at the anti-vaccine activist rally at the Augusta state capitol building along with “Conservative lawmakers including Reps. Heidi Sampson (R-Alfred), Tracy Quint (R-Hodgdon), Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), Assistant House Republican Leader Joel Stetkis (R-Canaan) and Republican Sen. Lisa Kiem (Oxford) spoke at the event.” The event included conspiracy theories being spewed out by conservative speakers; for example, Rep. Heidi Sampson’s assertions that this was all a ploy to test out experimental vaccines. Sampson compared Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to Josef Mengele—the Nazi doctor who experimented on Jewish prisoners during the Holocaust.
Cindy Johansen’s last two Facebook posts are dated July 21. One says, “It's absolutely horrible to be alone. And it's only going on day three.” The last post is a shot of either a rising or setting sun, saying, “You have no idea how much I miss this...”
The verification of Cindy Johansen’s death comes after news that South Carolina anti-mask and anti-vaccine mandate Republican leader Pressley Stutts died after a month-long battle with COVID-19.
On Aug. 10, Cindy Johansen reportedly passed away after struggling for almost a month with the virus. Her death was confirmed by The Daily Beast and the Maine Republican Party. A week after her passing, Chris Johansen appeared at an anti-vaxxer mandate demonstration in Augusta. As various reporters covering this demonstration noted, Johansen did not wear a mask. Whether or not Johansen has been cleared of COVID-19 or is safe outside of quarantine is not known. Barry has reported that neither Cindy nor Chris were vaccinated before contracting COVID-19. Aroostook County, like many counties across the country, has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the last few weeks.
Johansen’s social media feed is filled with posts of memes like one with two mice, one asking the other, “Did you get the vaccine yet?” and the other responding, “No, they’re still testing it on the humans.”
Cindy Johansen was the corresponding secretary-officer for the Aroostook County Republicans. Johansen, when contacted by the Beast, denied he himself was ever sick, saying: “All of these reports are false.” Though when contacted by the Press Herald back in July, he reportedly said, “I’m not doing well. I’m not feeling well, and I’m not talking to people right now.”
While her husband did not release information about either his wife’s illness or her passing, his Facebook page gave clues to the sad situation as it unfolded. On Aug. 5, he wrote about his wife not being allowed to talk, needing to show an ability to breathe on her own, and her need to be sedated. This was likely during periods where they had put her on a ventilator and then were trying to see if she could practice breathing on her own while they kept the ventilator on her. On Aug. 6, Johansen posted on his Facebook page: “Yesterday was not such a good day. No good news and one or two minor set backs. Will talk to the Doctor again this afternoon.” The last post on Johansen’s Facebook feed is dated Aug. 7. Johansen writes: “It was all bad news today. Cindy has suffered several major set backs.”
Cindy’s Facebook page had a profile image of a horse with a green circle around it. Inside of the circle was written, “I don’t care if you’ve had your vaccine.” A lot of her feed was dedicated to caring for horses and a farm. She wasn’t a fan of Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger or Black Lives Matter. She posted an image on July 4 of a flag reading: “TRUMP 2024, I’ll be back.”
On July 16 she posted, “Day three ... Feeling like I'm going to pass out. Have passed out on garage floor, legs were like rubber. got to get me some ginger ale...” She mentioned that she had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and asthma.
The Maine Beacon reported that on Tuesday, Chris Johansen appeared at the anti-vaccine activist rally at the Augusta state capitol building along with “Conservative lawmakers including Reps. Heidi Sampson (R-Alfred), Tracy Quint (R-Hodgdon), Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), Assistant House Republican Leader Joel Stetkis (R-Canaan) and Republican Sen. Lisa Kiem (Oxford) spoke at the event.” The event included conspiracy theories being spewed out by conservative speakers; for example, Rep. Heidi Sampson’s assertions that this was all a ploy to test out experimental vaccines. Sampson compared Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to Josef Mengele—the Nazi doctor who experimented on Jewish prisoners during the Holocaust.
Cindy Johansen’s last two Facebook posts are dated July 21. One says, “It's absolutely horrible to be alone. And it's only going on day three.” The last post is a shot of either a rising or setting sun, saying, “You have no idea how much I miss this...”
The verification of Cindy Johansen’s death comes after news that South Carolina anti-mask and anti-vaccine mandate Republican leader Pressley Stutts died after a month-long battle with COVID-19.