Bronx native Tarique Peters made headlines last week when he was arrested by police in O‘ahu, Hawaii, after violating the state's strict 14-day quarantine rule.

Despite worldwide concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, the 23-year-old made it to O‘ahu on Monday, May 11 and quickly broke the mandatory quarantine, posting photos of himself to his now-deleted Instagram page.

“He allegedly left his hotel room the day he arrived and traveled many places using public transportation,” a press release from the governor's office stated, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

"We appreciate the assistance of local people who spot flagrant violations of our emergency rules on various social media sites and report them to the appropriate authorities," Hawaii Attorney General Clare Connors stated in the release.

After his arrest on Friday, Peters' bail was set to $4,000. Peters' story gained traction online because he did little to hide his illegal activities by posting photos to his social media profiles and refusing to take precautions to protect himself or others.

As the number of headlines about Peters' actions grew, New York news outlets contacted his family in the Bronx to ask them about his actions.

The New York Post spoke with his mother, Marcia Peters, and his sister, who did not want to be named.

“He had no business going there. The rules are all over. I told him not to travel. I told him not to go. I told him to cancel all his vacation (plans) because he knows what’s going on in America and all over. Where am I going to get $4,000 from? I don’t know that he has $4,000. He ain’t rich like that. We gonna have to work something out,” Marcia said, adding that he currently attends Mercy College.

Here are some of the funniest responses to his mother's comments.

Marcia-Peters

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