![\"A](\"http:\/\/lavallette-seaside.shorebeat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/reopen_nj_rally_point_pleasant_beach_coronavirus_covid_19_099-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
The rally drew a mix of business owners, Republicans, libertarian-minded Democrats and candidates for various political offices around the state. It also featured Ian Smith and Kyle Newell, co-owers of the Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, who drew national attention after they reopened their business against Murphy\u2019s lockdown order. Officials who spoke ranged from Democratic State Assemblyman Jamel Holley to Republican Senator Michael Testa, who is representing a number of Cape May County business owners in a lawsuit against the governor. Few attendees besides members of the press wore masks during the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy office has responded to over 1,000 individuals who are still waiting for their unemployment benefits that they paid into and they deserve,\u201d Testa said. \u201cPeople have called me on the brink of a mental breakdown and on the brink of suicide. This is how sad it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy said in a television interview with CNN Monday that he didn\u2019t \u201cbegrudge\u201d citizens\u2019 right to protest, \u201cbut they don\u2019t sway me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy, whose executive orders make up the bulk of the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, was the object of the most derision.<\/p>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re already the most-taxed state in the union, we already have the greatest out-migration of any state in the United States of America, and people wonder why,\u201d said Testa.<\/p>\n
\u201cMurphy!\u201d a member of the crowd shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Testa replied.<\/p>\n
Kevin Jenkins of the Urban Global Health Alliance said he flew to New Jersey to speak at the rally.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo come here today and see this, it gives me hope,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should be angry as hell. This is war and we should be fighting back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rally also featured podcast star and North Jersey gun range owner Anthony Colandro.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy place is much safer than any corporate-recipient welfare big-box store,\u201d said Colandro, who serves as a National Rifle Association board member. \u201cWe have individual stalls and the best air-handler system money can buy. Why are we still closed? Because the crown of New Jersey is anti-gun.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>A \u2018Reopen NJ\u2019 rally is held in Point Pleasant Beach, May 25, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n
The crowd was filled with a mix of Shore locals and those who came from out of town to call for New Jersey\u2019s reopening. At one point, a \u201cLock Him Up\u201d chant began, aimed at the governor. The crows also chanted \u201cUSA! USA!\u201d and numerous other demands in unison.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that Governor Murphy has the right to shut down everybody. People are starving, people are committing suicide,\u201d said Jenna Gallichia of Bedminster. \u201cHe\u2019s not trying to take care of everybody, he\u2019s taking care of who he thinks is important, which is him and whoever he decides. I\u2019m not a Republican and I\u2019m not a Democrat. We live in America, we have a constitution, and our rights are being utterly pushed aside.\u201d<\/p>\n