Albany rally organizer calls on Cuomo to respect the Constitution and restore civil liberties
New York anti-lockdown demonstrator Cara Castronuova joins 'Fox & Friends.'
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Cara Castronuova, the organizer of a rally in Albany, N.Y. against the state’s stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, said she is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to respect the Constitution and restore civil liberties.
Speaking on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday, Castronuova said she traveled nearly three hours to Albany from Long Island, N.Y. to protest Cuomo’s lockdown order on Saturday because she feels like the governor “overstepped his power.”
“I'm protesting because my civil liberties are really important to me,” she said. “They're important to the country.”
President Trump praised Castronuova in a tweet on Sunday writing, “Great Rally and fantastic job on @ffweekend this morning. It is all happening! #MAGA”
The president linked to Castronuova’s tweet from Tuesday where she wrote, “#LiberateNY @realDonaldTrumpWe need you!! Protesters March on Albany for New York to Open for Business & defend #CivilLiberties #ConstitutionalRights “
New Yorkers protested outside of the governor's mansion in Albany on Saturday saying, “We want to make our message clear: Gov. Cuomo you will never take away our civil liberties and our constitutional rights.”
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Castronuova acknowledged on Sunday that “New York was hit hard according to the numbers,” but added she still doesn’t “think that that’s an excuse to give up civil liberties, for the governor to tell us that we have to stay home and to take away our constitutional rights.”
“There is nothing in the Constitution about a pandemic. There is no pandemic clause in the Constitution,” she continued.
As of Sunday, New York reported 348,232 coronavirus cases and 28,049 deaths.
When host Pete Hegseth asked Castronuova what she has been hearing from friends and business owners she said, “So many business owners I spoke to are so frustrated, so furious.”
“These government loans aren’t coming through,” she noted, referencing the Personal Paycheck Protection (PPP) loans that are being doled out by the Small Business Administration. “They don't want them to begin with. They’d rather just be able to make their own money. They were doing just fine.”
She added, “They feel like they should be able to open their business now, if not weeks ago, and a lot of friends of mine are also very frustrated and have a very deep-rooted fear that our civil liberties are being taken away and this is setting a terrible precedent for the future.”
Castronuova went on to say that she thinks “a lot of businesses are going to reopen” despite the governor’s order.
“I don't know what the ramifications will be for those businesses. I hope Gov. Cuomo leaves them alone,” she said.
She went on to say that she encourages all business owners to reopen “because that’s your right.”
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Cuomo did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on Sunday.
While New York’s most densely populated regions remain shut down with no clear reopening date in sight, parts of the state less impacted by the coronavirus can now start up their economies.
The Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, Central New York, and North Country regions, which include Rochester, Binghamton, and Utica, can start the first phase of Gov. Cuomo’s economic plan. Retail can reopen — though only for curbside or in-store pickup — along with construction and manufacturing.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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