Hundreds were spotted gathering Friday in the Orange County COVID-19 red zone of Kiryas Joel.

The crowd was for the funeral of a well-known Satmar leader.

Mayer Zelig Rispler, 70, died Friday from COVID-19.

Funeral services were held outside of the Hasidic village's main synagogue, despite executive orders banning large crowds in coronavirus hot spots.

News 12 is told the former community spokesman and well-known accountant had been hospitalized and critically ill for weeks.