California Highway Patrol (CHP) will not issue any more event permits on any state properties after people on Monday protested the state’s lockdown measures, according to The Sacramento Bee.
“Permits are issued to provide safe environments for demonstrators to express their views,” the CHP said in a statement to The Bee. “In this case, the permit for the convoy was issued with the understanding that the protest would be conducted in a manner consistent with the state’s public health guidance.
“That is not what occurred, and CHP will take this experience into account when considering permits for this or any other group.”
The Bee reported Monday that protesters gathered in Sacramento to drive around the state Capitol while hundreds of others stood “shoulder to shoulder cheering them on as they expressed opposition to the governor’s stay-at-home order.”
While the protests were going on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke at his coronavirus press conference.
“My understanding is the protest that CHP has supported has physical distancing that was allowable on the basis of people being in their vehicles and not congregating as a group,” the governor said.
According to KTLA, Newsom told reporters that he was going to reach out to CHP and find out why it issued a permit for this protest.
These types of “Operation Gridlock” protests have taken off across the country as people want their state governors to reopen their local economy. For example, last week in Michigan thousands of protesters came to its capital and protested the extreme measures implemented by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Local organizers released a video Tuesday of the protest at the California capital:
Currently, California has been in a “stay-at-home” order since March 9. Last week, California announced it would reopen its economy along with Oregon and California.
As of Monday, the California Department of Public Health numbers shows the state has 33,261 confirmed cases of the Chinese virus.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected].
Photo “Operation California Gridlock” by Danielle Smith.
