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People hold signs during a protest against the coronavirus shutdown in front of State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.
People hold signs during a protest against the coronavirus shutdown in front of State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty
Protestors trying to enter the Michigan House of Representative chamber.
Protestors trying to enter the Michigan House of Representative chamber.JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Im
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Demonstrators gather in front of the Colorado State Capitol building.
Demonstrators gather in front of the Colorado State Capitol building.JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Ima
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A progressive health care advocacy group used cellphone data to track the movements of demonstrators at lockdown protests in five states, according to a report.

The Committee to Protect Medicare collected the anonymized location data from opt-in cellphone apps and data scientists at the firm VoteMap used it to determine the movements of the devices at protests in April and May in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado and Florida, the Guardian reported Monday.

They created visualizations that tracked the movements up to 48 hours after the protests ended, and Jeremy Fair, executive vice president of VoteMap, told the newspaper that many of the cellphones reached the state borders and some even crossed them.

Following rallies opposing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown orders in Lansing, Mich., on April 30, the devices fanned out to all parts of the state — from Detroit to towns in the northern part of the state.

Some crossed into Indiana.

In the 48 hours after protests in Denver, cellphones crossed the borders into neighboring Wyoming, Nebraska, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Utah.

The compiled data does not include any information that could identify a person.

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