On Saturday, I wrote about Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo adopting a set of draconian orders in the name of countering coronavirus. In particular, I wrote about her orders targeting people who have entered Rhode Island from other states or countries. Included among these mandates was Raimondo’s direction to state police to pull over cars with New York license plates and order the people inside to quarantine for 14 days if they intend to stay in Rhode Island.
Here is an update on the order regarding cars with New York license plates. Raimondo has repealed that order. But, before you cheer a victory for liberty, consider the rest of the story. Tom Moroney reports at Bloomberg that Raimondo replaced that order with a new order that applies the same policy toward all out-of-state licensed vehicles. In other words, she massively expanded the police action.