Trenton

Mayor Ras Baraka said the city removed the statue that has stood in Washington Park since 1927 in order to avoid the risk of people taking it down on their own.

"Bottom line, there is either a public health emergency or there is not. It cannot be both," attorney Jim Mermigis said in an email.

The restrictions follow two instances where looting and vandalism broke out following Sunday marches in Trenton and Atlantic City.

Murphy said people peaceful protesting the 'murder' of George Floyd, under the knee of a police officer, is vastly different than other pandemic crowds.

After two days of peaceful protests, the city's downtown saw looting and vandalism late Sunday in a night of escalation in which at least two police cars were set ablaze.

Demonstrations in New Jersey were largely peaceful Saturday as crowds of masked protestors carried signs and marched in solidarity against the death of George Floyd.

Trenton Councilwoman Robin Vaughn and Mayor Reed Gusciora exchanged profanities and insults during a meeting on Saturday that started as a COVID-19 update.

As Gov. Murphy announced an additional 402 deaths in NJ from the novel coronavirus, dozens of protestors, some wearing masks, called on the governor to re-open the state immediately.

Amid its record crush of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development saw its website go down for a number of hours Sunday.

Police are looking for an out-of-state man they said beat a woman and then led police on two separate high-speed chases before running away on Wednesday.