New Mexico Governor Uses Riot Control Act

Governor closes all roads leading into New Mexico city grappling with coronavirus outbreak https://t.co/2XrnaYlkJi pic.twitter.com/CcDTSJF5bh

— The Hill (@thehill) May 2, 2020

Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has completely cut off Gallup, New Mexico.

From The Hill:

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced she is putting the city of Gallup on lockdown after a spike in coronavirus cases in the area.

The governor said in a statement that starting Friday at noon she is closing all roads leading into Gallup from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily and that vehicles can only have two people maximum. Residents of the city are encouraged to stay in Gallup except for emergency outings and trips essential for health, safety and welfare.

Lujan Grisham decided to take the action under the Riot Control Act after outgoing Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney and new Mayor Louis Bonaguidi requested she shutter the city in the midst of a sharp rise in cases.

...“I recognize this request is unusual and constitutes a drastic measure, and the emergency powers set out under the Riot Control Act should be invoked sparingly,” said Bonaguidi. “However, the COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Gallup is a crisis of the highest order. Immediate action is necessary.”

Lujan Grisham has put all the citizens of Gallup under house arrest.

From KOB4:

New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico National Guard are blocking vehicles from going into Gallup.

At the request of the city's mayor, the governor ordered a three-day lockdown of Gallup to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The lockdown forced businesses to close by 5 p.m. Friday.

"It's a little bit shocking because you're not read, the people or the businesses," said Germaine Garcia, co-owner of Genaro's restaurant.

From the Associated Press:

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the state’s Riot Control Act on Friday as she sealed off all roads to nonessential traffic in one of the largest communities bordering the Navajo Nation, where a surging coronavirus outbreak has already prompted widespread restrictions and weekend lockdowns.

She also required that businesses in Gallup close from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. in the city of about 70,000 people along Interstate 40, which remained open to through traffic.

Gallup is a hub for basic household supplies, liquor sales and water-container refills for people living in remote stretches of the Navajo Nation — often without full indoor plumbing — and indigenous Zuni Pueblo. The Navajo Nation has imposed evening and weekend curfews on the reservation spanning portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

...Lujan Grisham said physical distancing was not being maintained. “A problem in one part of our state, with a virus this contagious, is a problem for our entire state,” she said.

Federal health officials also have linked the severity of the problem in Gallup to an early outbreak at a detox center that was followed by infections among homeless people and nursing homes.

Homeless residents who contracted COVID-19 were being offered temporary shelter at four motels at the expense of the state to isolate them and slow the spread of the virus, according to Ina Burmeister, a spokeswoman for Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services hospital.

“We can't make them stay,” Burmeister said. “We're trying to get them to stay until they're cleared by physician as no longer infectious.”

...Patrick Sandoval came to Gallup from Ganado on the Navajo Nation early Friday to stock up on items for his family and neighbors. He stood in line for 40 minutes to enter a Walmart and was surprised to find that entire sections were blocked off with signs in English and Navajo that put nonessential purchases off limits.

He said a longer lockdown with advanced notice might be more effective. “What they stopped for the weekend is only going to start Monday again,” he said.

City officials requested new state of emergency under the riot act that can prohibit people from walking streets and using certain roads. Violations are punishable as misdemeanors on a first offense and as a felony on the second offense. Emergency declarations under the act expire after three days and can be renewed.

Mistakes were made by officials involving the management of infections at a detox center, at nursing homes, and among the homeless.

Clearly, there's a serious outbreak there.

However, citizens weren't given adequate warning that their freedom would be so severely limited. People and businesses didn't have time to prepare.

I guess tyrants don't have to be considerate.