COVID-19 is the single greatest health crisis America has faced in a century. Government officials have a strong interest in protecting the health and safety of residents, especially during a pandemic. At the same time they have, at a minimum, a heightened obligation to protect the right to free speech and assembly, including peaceful protests and press conferences in public spaces.

On May 3, members of Reclaim Pride, an LGBT+ organization, planned to hold a press conference to protest the city and state’s association with a group that required agreeing to a “Statement of Faith” affirming “marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female” as a precondition to employment. Participants in the press conference wore face masks and were at a social distance of at least 6 feet from one another, but members of the NYPD informed them it was an “unlawful gathering” under executive orders issued by both the governor and mayor and ordered them to disperse or be subject to arrest. A summons for “Violating an Emergency Measure by Mayor” was issued to two participants.