Gun-toting protesters in US occupy streets amid virus chaos

Protests against stay-at-home orders to combat the coronavirus pandemic have been held across the United States amid growing anger over the policy’s economic impact that has left millions of Americans unemployed.

Rallies were held on Friday in at least 10 states, including New York, which has led the country in COVID-19 deaths.

At New York’s state Capitol in Albany, protesters chanted slogans and waved flags. Counter-protesters staged their own rallies in support of keeping non-essential businesses closed.

Some workers at Amazon, Target, and other companies staged protests and sick-outs in New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon and other states to demand a safer work environment and better pay during the outbreak.

California has also seen protests over Governor Gavin Newsom’s sweeping stay-at-home orders.

There were about a dozen organized rallies in California’s largest cities including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.

In Los Angeles, street vendors drove around City Hall in a caravan pleading for rent relief in a May Day demonstration, saying they have been unable to obtain unemployment assistance because of the informal nature of their work or because of their immigration status.

In Huntington Beach, located south of Los Angeles, protesters swarmed the streets, backing up traffic for at least a mile along Pacific Coast Highway.

People carried signs reading “Open Cali now.” A plane buzzed overhead with a sign reading “Fire gruesome Newsom! Open California.”

The rally attendants demanded workers’ rights as well as aid for people affected by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

MG