Judge Napolitano: 'If we don’t take our freedoms back they might not come back'
Judge Andrew Napolitano weighs in on protests in Michigan over stay-at-home restrictions and rips NJ governor Murphy for saying The Bill of Rights was above his pay grade
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Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano on Thursday slammed governors for issuing strict quarantine measures during the coronavirus pandemic, "crushing" Americans' civil liberties in the process.
“These governors tried to write law rather than enforce the law the legislature has written,” Napolitano told “Fox & Friends.”
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Napolitano's comments came after Tucker Carlson pressed Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy Wednesday on the scientific rationale and constitutional fitness of Murphy's executive measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which have essentially locked down most of the Garden State.
'The Bill of Rights, as you well know, protects Americans' rights -- enshrines their right to practice their religion as they see fit and to congregate together to assemble peacefully," Carlson said. "By what authority did you nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order? How do you have the power to do that?"
"That's above my pay grade, Tucker," Murphy responded. "I wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this ... we looked at all the data and the science and it says people have to stay away from each other. That is the best thing we can do to break the back of the curve of this virus, that leads to lower hospitalization and ultimately fatalities."
Napolitano blasted Murphy for his comments.
"Here in New Jersey, the governor boasted to Tucker Carlson last night that 'the Bill of Rights is above my pay grade.'"
"You took a solemn oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, which includes the Bill of Rights," Napolitano said, adding that police officers he has spoken to "hate" that they have to enforce the quarantines.
“In the case of governor Murphy in New Jersey who says the ‘Bill of Rights is above his pay grade,’ that’s a felony of misconduct in office. It’s an impeachable offense for a governor to either knowingly or negligently crush the civil liberties as these governors have done," he added.
Meanwhile, a Facebook page called "Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine" has drawn 250,000 followers, according to reports.
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Garrett Soldano started the page after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week expanded the state’s stay-at-home order to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
He was not expecting to draw so many followers.
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The station reported that Michiganders can go shopping at stores like Target and Walmart, but cannot buy certain items deemed non-essential.
Fox News' Robert Gearty and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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