New Jersey Governor Calls for 'Social Distancing, Personal Responsibility' Three Days After Joining Protesters

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy called for the public to prioritize "social distancing" and "personal responsibility" only three days after he joined a demonstration.

"Look: We're still not out of the woods. We're still near the top of some lists we don't want to be atop of," the governor tweeted Wednesday. "Social distancing and personal responsibility must remain our priorities."

Murphy sent the tweet attached to a graphic that showed New Jersey ranks second in the country in both the number of daily coronavirus deaths (76) and hospitalized patients (1,786), as of June 9.

As recently as Sunday, the Democratic governor could be seen standing shoulder to shoulder with protesters responding to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, even though he had an executive order in place banning outside gatherings of more than 25 people.

Murphy was highly critical of protesters who gathered in the state capital in opposition to his coronavirus lockdown orders at the end of April. In a press conference at the time, the governor said that while he did not begrudge anyone's right to protest, he wished "they would do it at home."

"Just driving over here, I can see that they are congregating, and that's the last thing we need right now," Murphy said at the April 28 press conference. "We are absolutely, desperately trying to save every life we can."

The governor faced backlash from state Republican lawmakers for joining multiple protests over the weekend in defiance of his own order on public gatherings. Jay Webber, a New Jersey lawmaker, wrote a letter to State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan stating that Murphy's participation in the protests "merit a criminal citation" for violating the executive order.

"As you yourself have warned, 'Because lives are at stake, enforcement action will be taken without hesitation against those who are blatantly placing the lives of others at risk,'" Webber wrote.

"Attorney General [Gurbir Singh Grewal] also has emphasized, 'I said we were done with warnings and would take strong law enforcement action against anyone who failed to heed the governor's COVID-19 related emergency orders. This crackdown will continue until everyone gets the message that they need to stop these violations,'" Webber wrote.

In April, New Jersey charged two women who organized public protests over the lockdown measures with violating the executive order, a violation that carries a $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in prison.

Following the backlash from Republicans he received over the weekend, Murphy lifted the limit on the number of people participating in an outdoor protest or religious gathering.

The governor's office didn't respond to Newsweek's questions about whether the two protest organizers could still be fined or if the Republican backlash led to Murphy changing the executive order he did not follow himself last weekend.