Charlotte-Mecklenburg police issued citations to 12 protesters at a Charlotte abortion clinic who were in violation of the North Carolina stay-at-home order Saturday.
CMPD said about 50 people were congregating outside A Preferred Women's Health Center of Charlotte on Latrobe Drive on Saturday. The gathering was determined to be in violation of the mass gathering directive in the state stay-at-home order.
Gatherings of more than 10 people are not permitted under the order issued by Gov. Roy Cooper.
CMPD says it asked for compliance, but 12 people refused to leave and were issued citations for Violation of Emergency Prohibitions and Restrictions.
Calla Hales, executive director of A Preferred Women's Health Center, has been tweeting that protesters have been violating the order and social distancing guidance to stay six feet apart despite the coronavirus outbreak.
All week, we’ve had protesters. Every day. Some days worse than others. But every day, in violation of stay at home orders. Most of these people are not from Charlotte- compromising multiple communities by traveling unnecessarily. #40WeeksOfHarassment #NotCounseling pic.twitter.com/pikpY9eEsJ — Calla Hales (@heyitscalla) April 4, 2020
On Monday, seven men were arrested outside A Women's Clinic of Greensboro and charged with violating the the stay-at-home order. Greensboro police said the demonstrators refused to leave when asked to do so.
Click here for the latest coronavirus news on WFAE’s live blog.
Sign up here for The Frequency, WFAE’s daily email newsletter.
What questions do you have about the coronavirus? What has this experience been like for you? Share your questions below.
havingfun89 on April 5th, 2020 at 02:32 UTC »
Pro-life, but apparently pro-disease as well.
musuak on April 5th, 2020 at 01:38 UTC »
I've been waiting for this! The group who manages the defenders and escorts has been posting photos. The first few days the police didn't do a damn thing.
AdvancedAdvance on April 5th, 2020 at 01:18 UTC »
Don't they know they could be spreading the disease? Guess these abortion protestors don't care that much about human life after all.