New Jersey Investigates Republican Covid Rule Violations Gala | Coronavirus

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said authorities were investigating a Republican club in New York City for hosting a political gala fundraiser that appeared to violate state coronavirus guidelines.

Photos and videos posted to Twitter showed dozens of maskless revelers at the New York Young Republican Club event on Thursday night in Jersey City.

Governor Murphy, a Democrat, said at a press briefing on Friday: “It is irrelevant that anyone willfully endanger people in another state, let alone their own,” adding that “the forces of the The Order of Jersey City are currently investigating this matter. “

Attendees included Florida Republican MP Matt Gaetz and conservative political activist James O’Keefe.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, said in an emailed statement that the event at the Maritime Parc restaurant in Liberty State Park was “a flagrant violation” of state coronavirus guidelines and that he ordered the restaurant to be closed temporarily.

“In Jersey City, we take the enforcement of Covid very seriously, and this event appears to be a blatant violation of governor’s decrees, including capacity limitations and mandatory mask wear,” Fulop wrote. “This event blatantly disregards the protections in place to protect the community from further contagion and has put Jersey City and countless others at risk.”

New Jersey recently tightened restrictions on indoor gatherings in response to an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. Indoor meals are limited to 25% of a restaurant’s capacity and no indoor meals are allowed between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Guests of indoor bars and restaurants are required to wear a face covering except when eating or drinking at their table.

Out-of-state travelers are urged to quarantine for 14 days, but Murphy said the state relies on the honor system to comply.

New York Young Republican Club president Gavin Wax scoffed at reviews online, saying the group had done nothing wrong.

“We embrace life and life as you all curl up in your pods worried about disease with 99% + survival rate,” he said in a tweet, referring to a pandemic that killed over 24,000 people in New York City alone and over 17,000 in New Jersey.

Murphy slammed the club for hosting the gala in New Jersey, saying they were “sneaking” into Jersey City because they couldn’t find a venue that would take them to New York.

“There is no obvious attempt to impose social distancing or face masks, although wearing masks indoors is mandatory during organized gatherings when one is not eating or drinking”, Murphy said, posting a photo from the gala that showed people crowded around Gaetz for a photo.

He called Gaetz a “tall, handsome guy in a gray suit”. He called the rally “beyond the pale”, in particular for a “congressman to attend.”

“You are not welcome in New Jersey,” Murphy said, “and frankly, I never want you to come back to this state.”

Gaetz responded on Twitter, “Thanks for calling me handsome, Governor! I am only considered beautiful in New Jersey. In Florida, I’m hardly a roundup 6. ”

No one answered the phone at the restaurant, and Gaetz didn’t respond to a text on Friday.

New York and New Jersey have both struggled with rising virus rates. In New Jersey, nearly 15,000 new cases were reported in the first three days of December alone. New York State has reported 30,000.

During his regular coronavirus briefing on Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was “so irresponsible for an elected official who makes laws to encourage people to break the laws,” in an apparent reference to Gaetz.

“I want to see young Republicans become old Republicans,” he added. “It’s about preventing deaths.”