CHARLESTON, W.Va. — About 50 to 75 protesters greeted Gov. Jim Justice as he exited the state Capitol building Monday after his daily COVID-19 briefing.
Those gathered believe executive orders Justice has issued in recent days which have closed businesses deemed non-essential and forced many West Virginians to stay home need to be immediately rescinded.
“The governor says he’s keeping us safe, but not a single person here needs Gov. Jim Justice to keep them safe,” said Del. Marshall Wilson of Berkeley County.
The crowd held signs which read “I prefer dangerous liberty over peaceful slavery,”
Justice spoke to reporters as he left and drove past the protesters on his way out, but made no acknowledgement toward them.
The protest calling for the state to reopen came as Justice unveiled his plan for a careful restart of non-essential businesses in West Virginia.
Justice’s plan includes church services, which he claimed had never been closed to begin with, to restart with the prescribed social distancing. The plan also calls for business owners to meet certain standards before they can restart operations including adequate personal protective equipment, social distancing, and careful monitoring of the health of those who work there.
“He presented it as, ‘I have decided I will have mercy on you. I’ll let you go back to church, but you have to sit where I tell you,” Wilson told the crowd.
Daniel Belcher was among those demonstrating. He works in the coal industry and felt fortunate to have kept his job. He said others in his family and in his county are not as fortunate.
“They’re being severely affected by this. If we continue this shutdown, we’ll never get our state back. A lot of businesses won’t be opening back up. They can’t afford it,” he said.
During Monday’s briefing, Justice indicated he would not be bullied into a decision by those sitting on the extreme of either side. He noted while there is definitely a concern the state could see a spike in cases as the restrictions are loosened, not loosening the restrictions would further choke the state economically.
“I think it’s a great plan. We’re going to monitor, watch, and take small steps. As we take small steps, we’ll see where we are and if we’ve got to stop, slow, or backup, that’s what we’ll do,” he said.