Threatening letter proves officials 'completely out of control': attorney

"We got word that Chemung County issued letters to anyone in quarantine [informing them] that if they do not voluntarily quarantine the way the county wants them to, they will be involuntarily quarantined or 'committed to a facility where you may be quarantined against your wishes,'" attorney Keisha Russell of First Liberty Institute told "The Todd Starnes Show." (Related article)

It's no surprise, said the attorney, that government officials are willing to go this far.

"After all, they've spent the last year taking away First Amendment freedoms from churches and from individuals telling [them] who they can spend the holidays with and all of that," she noted. "So, at this point it shows that the government officials and their power is just completely out of control."

According to Russell, some of those who received the letter actually don't have COVID.

"They've just may have been exposed to someone else and they're voluntarily quarantining as a precaution," she explained, "and they received the same letter saying [essentially] if you don't quarantine, we may force you to quarantine and commit you to a facility even against your wishes."

The First Liberty attorney urged that even though people might be distracted by other things in the news right now, they shouldn't overlook these matters.

"… I really just want to let people know they have to pay attention to what government is doing because if this type of stuff goes unchecked … all of a sudden, before you know it, the government is knocking on your door saying, 'Hey, I heard you have a Bible in there and we're coming to get it,'" explained Russell. "It sounds farfetched now, but it really isn't – it really isn't."

As of now, First Liberty is monitoring the situation in New York.