The California Highway Patrol has placed a temporarily ban on rallies at the state Capitol and at other state facilities because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The change in policy was announced Wednesday after hundreds of protesters upset of Governor Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders showed up on the Capitol grounds in Sacramento on Monday. Many of them weren't wearing masks or following recommendations to stay at least six feet away from others to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The same group had planned additional rallies during the week, but only handful of people turned out to protest on Wednesday.
Additional similar rallies have been happening across California and the nation. Protest organizers have used social media to spread the word about their rallies, and in the case of the Monday gathering, they asked people observe physical distancing.