People are flaunting government advice to stay at home and save lives by gathering in crowds to protest social distancing. This news comes a month after President Trump advised people to stay at home to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic to ease pressure on the healthcare system and save lives. He said: "Avoid gathering in groups of more than ten people. Avoid discretionary travel. And avoid eating and drinking at bars, restaurants, and public food courts." However, per <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/16/politics/donald-trump-economy-coronavirus-pain/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CNN</a>, Trump unveiled plans to unveil plans to re-open the US economy today, despite the country experiencing record numbers of coronavirus deaths. Donald Trump said his authority on reopening states is total:  [[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/3MOxGJmz-Q0L14jDU.mp4||3MOxGJmz]] Now, opponents of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order in Michigan have staged a protest dubbed "Operation Gridlock" on Wednesday, the <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/crowds-gather-to-protest-social-distancing.html?utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=socialflowFBMAR&utm_source=facebook">NY Mag</a> reports. It saw the streets filled with cars. There were so many, in fact, that the route of an ambulance was blocked. Others simply defied social distancing measures to gather in crowds. They waved pro-Trump and anti-Whitmer signs, with a reporter revealing that he heard chants of "recall Whitmer," "U-S-A," and "lock her up." This came after four Michigan residents filed a lawsuit claiming that Whitmer had violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights. "It's taking a sledgehammer to an ant." their attorney told Fox 2, per the NY Mag. "We believe it is over-broad and overreaching. There is a way to do it appropriately without infringing on constitutional rights like the governor has." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/PolarBarrett/status/1250460014348828672]] Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a group of over 100 people gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina to Governor Roy Cooper's stay-at-home order. Once again, some participated only by honking from their cars. The protest was broken up because it was deemed a non-essential activity and one person was arrested. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/abigail26756823/status/1250743988551909376]] The <a href="https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article241999131.html">Raleigh News & Observer</a> reports that the protest was organized through a private Facebook group, ReopenNC, which "wants people to make their own stay-at-home decisions to avoid exposure to COVID-19." Those who attended told the news outlet that they feared the implications that social distancing measures could have on small businesses and questioned the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. A Raleigh resident told <a href="https://abc11.com/reopen-nc-protest-protester-arrested-public-gathering-downtown-raleigh/6102688/">ABC 11</a>: "The hospitals are empty. Nobody is sick with COVID. All of these COVID deaths are being attributed to COVID that aren't COVID deaths."

Crowds gather around the country to protest social distancing

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