Coronavirus lockdown protests sprout in North Carolina, Missouri, Alabama
Anti-lockdown protests have popped up in at least 25 states
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Protesters gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday morning to ask government leaders to let them go back to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Other back-to-work rallies scheduled for Tuesday afternoon include Jefferson City, Missouri, and Montgomery, Alabama.
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People gather with ReopenNC demonstrators in Raleigh, N.C., as they press Gov. Roy Cooper to allow businesses to reopen during the COVID-19 outbreak Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
"Now more than ever we need to be providing more services and having more people working," Missouri protest organizer Josh Schisler told FOX Business.
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Anti-lockdown protests have popped up in at least 25 states with both Republican and Democratic governors as U.S. unemployment claims skyrocket.
"Reopen NC" demonstrators first descended on Raleigh last week and plan to be there every Tuesday, organizer Ashley Smith told FOX Business. North Carolina's stay-at-home order will expire April 29.
Protesters wanting the lifting of stay-at-home orders gather near the Country Club Plaza shopping area in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, April 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
Tuesday's rally in Missouri is the first to take place in the state capital, although protesters gathered in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday. Missouri's stay-at-home order will expire May 3, although Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said his city's stay-at-home order will last until May 15, KCUR reported.
Alabama's stay-at-home order expires April 30.
The North Carolina protest comes after the state's neighbors Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina said on Monday that certain businesses will be able to reopen this week or next. Protesters gathered in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday to demand an end to the lockdown and faced criticism for not staying six feet apart from one another.
Nearby Kentucky reported its largest daily spike in virus cases on Sunday, days after protesters gathered at the state capitol. It's unknown whether the spike was due to the gathering.
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On Monday, Facebook said it will remove posts and other content that encourage people to gather in defiance of government health guidelines. Although Facebook said it removed posts after consulting with state governments including New Jersey and Nebraska, many governors' offices were quick to distance themselves from the idea.