Stay-at-Home Protest Brings Charge for Violation

A New Jersey woman has been charged with violating the state's stay-at-home order in connection with a protest of the restriction. The demonstration took place Friday in Trenton while Gov. Phil Murphy was holding his daily press briefing on the pandemic. State police charged Kim Pagan of Toms River with violating the emergency order, NJ.com reports. Officials say Pagan organized the small gatherings, which took place in several places in the city, including outside the statehouse.

A protest earlier in the day in a Walmart parking lot drew fewer than two dozen people, per WNBC. "Murphy's Law Worse Than COVID-19," read a sign in a car window. The state has reported nearly 80,000 coronavirus cases and a death toll of nearly 4,000. Murphy said that the pandemic has not reached its peak yet in his state and that schools will stay closed until at least May 15, the governor said. New York is sending over 100 ventilators to help, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. (More coronavirus stories.)