FRANKFORT, Ky. – Impatient protesters demanding Gov. Andy Beshear reopen Kentucky disrupted his televised Wednesday afternoon pandemic update, chanting, blowing horns and shouting into a megaphone outside the window of the briefing room and nearly drowning out his comments to Kentuckians.

The protest began with just a few people holding signs on the Capitol lawn, but by the time Beshear started to speak, the group numbered about 100 people.

Protesters, some of whom appeared to be standing less than 6 feet apart from one another, chanted "we want to work" and "facts over fear." They yelled non-stop throughout Beshear's one-hour press briefing, switching up chants and occasionally sounding a horn.

About halfway through his briefing, Beshear acknowledged the protesters, saying "there's some noise in the background."

"We do have some folks up in here in Kentucky today — and everybody should be able to express their opinion — that believe we should reopen Kentucky immediately, right now," Beshear said. "Folks, that would kill people. That would absolutely kill people."

"My job isn't to make the popular decision, but the right decision, and the decision that saves peoples' lives," Beshear said.

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As Beshear began his news conference, they rapidly switched between chants, which included: “Open up Kentucky!” “We want to work!” and “Open up the church!”

One person kept blowing a large horn, to cheers from the crowd. Some of the protesters appeared to be trying to keep their distance from other people, but many weren’t.

People driving by the Capitol honked their horns, but some of the passers-by weren’t fans of the protest. One person yelled out the window of their car at the protesters: “Idiots!”

As Beshear solemnly listed the 88 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven new deaths in Kentucky over the last 24 hours, the protesters chanted "you are not the king." Their cheers grew in volume and frequency when they learned Beshear and TV viewers at home could clearly hear their protest.

Erika Calihan of Lexington said she told some friends she planned to come to the Capitol on Wednesday to “practice” social distancing with her family.

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She indicated that the protest grew organically from there.

Last year, Calihan promoted the theory that there was voter fraud and election hacking in the November election that Beshear won against former Gov. Matt Bevin.

“I think people are just sick and tired of this,” she said of the restrictions Beshear has instituted to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

If companies like Walmart and Target are allowed to keep their stores open during the pandemic, she said small businesses should do the same. She insisted that businesses should be allowed to reopen now, although business owners should put measures in place to ensure their customers and employees socially distance.

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“We’re smart enough to build a company; I think we’re smart enough to operate it safely,” said Calihan, who said she runs a business of her own that has been deemed essential during the pandemic. But it is still struggling financially right now.

She declined to provide details about her business.

When asked about the possibility that people who joined Wednesday’s protest may have had COVID-19 and spread it to other people who were there, Calihan said, “I don’t know, I can’t control what diseases people have and don’t have. All I know is that people are fed up.”

Nora and Morelia Falcon of Leitchfield, Kentucky, came to join the protest Wednesday.

“We just came here to hopefully get a message to Beshear to open up Kentucky,” Nora, 52, said. “I want to be in my church with our parish.”

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Morelia, 18, said she thinks businesses should be allowed to open as long as they follow federal guidelines, such as social distancing. “I believe every job that puts food on the table is essential,” she said.

A Kentucky State Police officer who guarded the Capitol entrance near where the governor's briefing was held said he was told by his superiors not to confront the protesters unless they tried to enter the building, which the general public has been prohibited from entering for weeks because of the COVID-19 emergency.

The protesters particularly disagreed with Beshear’s decision to order the closure of myriad businesses across the commonwealth — a move he made to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has killed 122 Kentuckians and infected 2,291 so far.

Beshear's orders to close businesses and take other steps to slow the spread of the virus in Kentucky have been developed in conjunction with and supported by public health officials.

"People are getting restless and nervous,” said Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, who was in the Capitol at the time of the protest.

“If they don't feel like there's a plan and a potential timeline for a return to normalcy, I'm afraid you will see more and more of that and/or people simply disregarding the restrictions."

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The protest occurred at a time when there is a national debate over when states should loosen the restrictions governors have put in place to ensure people practice social distancing.

Those steps, such as the closure of “non-essential” businesses Beshear ordered, have had stark financial impacts on people who have been furloughed or laid off.

Asked about the protesters' calls to reopen businesses immediately in defiance of his orders, Beshear said "that would cause the death of more Kentuckians."

“There is not partisanship in this. I'm just us doing what it takes to protect people," said Beshear, adding that he is following White House guidelines. "It's an absolute fact that this virus spreads quickly and is deadly, and all you have to do is take a look at the numbers today, especially in our nursing home facilities."

Beshear and other governors who’ve taken similar measures insist these collective sacrifices are necessary to save lives, but some people — including President Donald Trump and the protesters who gathered in Frankfort Wednesday — have argued that these restrictions shouldn’t remain in place for long, considering their economic toll.

Meanwhile, in a similar sight in Michigan on Wednesday, demonstrators drove thousands of vehicles — many draped with protest signs — to Michigan's state Capitol. They loudly protested Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order intended to fight the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports.

"Liberty once lost is lost forever," read a sign draped across a commercial van. "Security without liberty is called prison," read another, stretched across the Capitol's front lawn. "Recall Whitmer," a third sign said.

In addition to the Michigan protest, similar crowds gathered this week near the state Capitols in Columbus, Ohio, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Before the Frankfort protesters reached the window outside the briefing room, Beshear cautioned Kentucky is not yet "at halftime" of its battle against the coronavirus and has yet to reach its peak in cases and deaths.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer shared a similar message an hour earlier.

"If we move too quickly on reopening, if we’re removing too many restrictions too quickly, the sad reality of that is more people are going to die," Fischer said.

"We’ve got to really be clear here: The timeline for loosening restrictions is going to be set by the virus and set by you all, the people of Louisville, with how much discipline you show.”

Beshear announced he was working with Republican governors in Ohio and Indiana on a coordinated effort for the three states to begin easing restrictions, but only when public health data supports those decisions.

The governor urged Kentuckians to avoid political disagreements during the pandemic.

"You’ve got to drown out the politics," he said. "There’s a lot of politics with the legislature back in session. We can’t be divided. People are dying. We’ve got to make sure we protect those around us. It’s just us against the coronavirus."