A judge in Mercer County has denied an attempt by state Republican lawmakers to prevent state troopers from enforcing COVID-19 entry rules at the State House.

Six GOP lawmakers tried to enter the State House in Trenton Monday morning without showing proof of vaccination or a negative test. They were thwarted by a locked door.

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They say that state police enforcing the policy violates the state Constitution.

“Those are our rights under the Constitution. I think they need to be defended. It’s not our rights so much as…it’s the rights of the people who sent us here,” said Republican Assemblyman Jay Webber. “They expect their representatives to be admitted to the State House to do the people’s business. The state police have stopped that this morning. And we’ll see what the court has to say about that.”

Webber and many of his colleagues voted remotely during the Assembly session on Monday afternoon.