New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) was seen without a mask at an indoor ball, just weeks after he implemented a mask mandate for school children.
The Equality Ball, an annual fundraiser for Garden State Equality, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, took place Thursday, when Murphy, leaders of New Jersey Education Association and other officials were caught without masks.
Tonight, I was honored to join @GovMurphy along with LGBTQ+ advocates, community members, and public officials from across New Jersey for @GSEquality's annual Equality Ball.
— Acting AG Andrew Bruck (@NewJerseyOAG) October 8, 2021
Proud to be part of a community committed to equal justice for every resident of this state. pic.twitter.com/mrLbcjCv8M
State Senator Holly Schepisi said that the maskless event is the type of hypocrisy "that is driving people in New Jersey insane."
"At the very same time that this Governor issued another EO mandating two year olds wear masks for upwards of 7 hours a day because of purported ‘safety,’ the New Jersey political democratic elite gathered maskless by the thousands at multiple indoor events throughout the State, including in "high-risk" Asbury Park, Bergen and Hudson Counties," Schepisi said in a statement to Fox News.
"The people of New Jersey are being told by this administration that they must comply, don't ask questions or get labeled a knucklehead or worse while those demanding compliance flout the very policies they push," she continued. "It is wrong."
New Jersey requires masks in schools, public transportation, healthcare settings, child care centers, correctional facilities and homeless shelters, but does not otherwise mandate the face coverings. However, the governor's office does strongly recommend masks "for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in indoor settings where there is increased risk."
Murphy has also previously said that he recommends people wear masks if they do not know whether the people around them are vaccinated.
"I'm not talking about having dinner with your husband or wife at your table," Murphy said in September. "I'm talking about being packed in on each other, and you're not confident that you know the vaccination status of the people that you're around."
This comes on the heels of Murphy's mask mandate for school children as young as 2-years-old, a decision that he said is "not something that we’re doing happily."
New Jersey has ranked in the top five for states with the most per capita deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
Other Democratic governors who have been caught ignoring their own COVID-19 rules include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in August over sexual harassment allegations.