NJ woman who organized anti-lockdown protest charged with violating stay-at-home orders

A New Jersey woman who organized an anti-lockdown protest has been charged with violating Gov. Phil Murphy's stay-at-home orders.

Kim Pagan, from Toms River, NJ, was the organizer behind an anti-lockdown protest outside the New Jersey State House in Trenton on mid-day Friday. Approximately two dozen cars lined up outside the State House; some vehicles had signs demanding that the state re-open. New Jersey State Troopers did not stop the demonstration, but Pagan was charged with violating the Garden State's stay-at-home order.

The Facebook page of the Central Jersey Libertarians posted a video of the protest, where a State Trooper is seen writing down license plate numbers of the cars involved with the demonstration.

Later that day, approximately a dozen people protested outside Gov. Phil Murphy's office building and demanded that he "open New Jersey."

On Friday, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal tweeted: "If you think emergency orders are more like guidelines than actual rules, think again. Here's the latest on our enforcement actions. I know social distancing isn't exactly enjoyable, but now's not the time for fun & games. Please stay home & stay safe." The tweet linked to New Jersey's "Daily COVID-19 Enforcement Update," which included Pagan's charge of "violating the emergency orders."

New Jersey has over 81,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,070 deaths from the virus. New Jersey has the second-most COVID-19 death and cases following New York.

"We are cautiously optimistic," said NJ Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. She added that it appears that the state is "leveling off but we still expect it to be very high" into the beginning of May.