More than 100 protesters rallied in downtown Raleigh to reopen North Carolina on Tuesday, describing Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-home order as an unconstitutional overreach that will kill the state’s small businesses.

At least one protester, Monica Faith Ussery, 51, of Holly Springs, was charged with violating the executive order.

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“I have a right to peacefully assemble,” she said as officers led her away, her hands bound with a zip tie. “God bless America.”

Every 15 minutes during the protest, roughly 50 cars honked their horns in unison.

As a Raleigh police officer asked several protesters to keep 6 feet apart, the noise drowned out his voice.

“We are in violation of Comrade Cooper’s order,” said Leonard Harrison of Mebane, dressed in an American flag shirt. “If I get locked up today, I’m OK with that. As North Carolinians, we need to get back to work.”

The protest was organized by ReopenNC, a private Facebook group organized last week that wants people to make their own stay-at-home decisions to avoid exposure to COVID-19 as the worldwide pandemic continues. The group surpassed 28,000 members on Tuesday afternoon.

Police arrest a woman after she was told several times to disperse from a gathering of protestors calling on Governor Roy Cooper to re-open North Carolina, amid concerns of the economic fallout from his stay at home order due to the COVID-19 virus. Protestor gathered at the corner of N. Wilmington and Jones Street for nearly two hours before being ordered to disperse on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 in Raleigh, N.C. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com

Governor warns of ‘catastrophe’

Cooper said at a Monday afternoon news conference that anyone wanting the restrictions to end abruptly is inviting danger.

“Some people want to completely obliterate these restrictions,” Cooper said . “It would be a catastrophe. The numbers are very clear that the interventions that we’ve entered into — social gatherings, limitations on bars and restaurants, the stay at home order — those kinds of things are working.”

Tuesday’s protest reached its third round of honks at 11:45 a.m. as protesters vowed to continue for hours.

But at roughly 12:30 p.m., police asked protesters to disperse.

“You are in violation of the executive order,” said a police captain. “You are posing a risk to public health. If you do not disperse, you will be taken and processed at Wake County jail.”

Honking erupted.

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” said one protester.

“Are you goons of Cooper or servants of the people?” said another.

Most of the crowd began leaving after a third warning.

Those gathered Tuesday said they doubt the extent of the virus’ danger, describing testing as inaccurate and causes of death suspicious.

Are protests ‘non-essential’?

Although the State Capitol Police made the arrest, the Raleigh Police Department garnered much of the attention Tuesday for its defense of the arrest on social media. The Raleigh Police Department tweeted “Protesting is a non-essential activity” about 1:20 p.m. to explain why protesters were asked to leave.

In a statement Tuesday night, the Raleigh Police Department stood by its tweet as well as officers’ obligation to enforce the stay-at-home order during “these unprecedented times and unusual circumstances.” They said there’s no exemption spelled out in state and Wake County stay-at-home orders for protesting like there is for other “essential” activities.”

“But more important is the health and wellness of all who live in our community, including the officers who must engage in circumstances such as these,” the statement said. “We simply want everyone to be safe during this very serious public health crisis.”

In an email to The News & Observer, Raleigh police said they are “having ongoing conversations with Wake County officials and the Wake County District Attorney’s Office on the scope and enforcement” of both the local stay-at-home order and the statewide order.

The Raleigh Police Department added in its statement: “The Wake County District Attorney is the individual who decides charging language for failure to adhere to the Governor’s Orders and the Wake County Proclamation, when charging is appropriate, and what charges individuals may face for violating either one of these orders.”

The Raleigh Police Department referred questions about the arrest to the State Capitol Police.

‘Destroying small business people’

Many said the stay-home requirements will hurt more than help.

“I know what isolation does to people,” said Kerry Thomas, a psychotherapist from Cary. “I know what failing businesses do to people.”

Dennis Burgard said he has traveled from Jacksonville to downtown Raleigh for three straight Tuesdays and plans to continue, sitting in his pickup and displaying a sign that reads “Gov. Cooper, your orders are destroying small business people.”

He said he fears that only large corporations and drive-through businesses will survive the stay-home order.

“What we’ll lose are all the small businesses that were handed down for generations,” he said.

The ReopenNC group has said it plan to hold weekly rallies on Tuesdays to encourage Cooper to end the restrictions by May 1. One of the group’s founders is Ashley Smith, a Morganton mother of four who has previously posted on social media about her opposition to vaccinations for any diseases.

“I am against mandatory vaccination,” Smith said in an email to The News & Observer on Monday. “That is a personal right and as a sovereign citizen I have the right to choose what medical procedures I and my children receive. Pandemic status/state of emergency doesn’t change that.”

The group has spawned an opposition Facebook group, Stay Home NC. The group’s members agree that restrictions must eventually be removed so that businesses can open. But they say they just want the economy to be reopened in a way to protect the public and prevent coronavirus from spreading further into the population.

“We fight for science and reason,” said Michael Ryan Morgan of Mount Airy, who started Stay Home NC. “We fight for the survival of the human race.”

Staff writer Steve Wiseman contributed to this report.