Bill de Blasio: NYPD Will Arrest Jewish Mourners Violating Social Distancing

De Blasio took to Twitter with his threat of a “zero tolerance” approach against violations of the city’s social distancing directives, ostensibly as responsive measures to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus,” wrote de Blasio.

De Blasio added, “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”

The Yeshiva World reported that de Blasio went to the funeral with New York City Police Department officers to break up the crowd of hundreds that turned out for Mertz’s funeral.