Michigan GOP lawmakers end Gov. Whitmer's 'rule by decree' — and she is powerless to veto it



Republican lawmakers in Michigan have officially killed a law that allowed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to lock down the state indefinitely during the coronavirus pandemic — and the governor is reportedly powerless to veto it.

According to WDIV-TV, the Republican-led state House voted 60-48 on Wednesday to repeal an emergency powers law that granted broad authority to governors to issue an emergency declaration and enact rules to "protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control." The state Senate approved the repeal proposal last week.

The law, known as the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, was employed by Whitmer early on in the pandemic to enact draconian and indefinite health and safety restrictions. But it was declared unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court last October.

With the Wednesday vote, the law has now been completely wiped from the books. And since the repeal proposal was the result of a citizen-initiated campaign, the governor is unable to veto it.

Another emergency powers law, known as the Emergency Management Act of 1976, remains in place. Under that law, however, emergency orders cannot extend beyond 28 days unless they receive legislative approval.

Unlock Michigan, the citizen campaign that led the repeal initiative, reportedly "spent millions of dollars to collect hundreds of thousands of voter signatures" in order to bring the bill before the state legislature.

Fred Wszolek, a spokesman for the group, celebrated the repeal vote on Wednesday, saying it ended Whitmer's "rule by decree."

"We're grateful to the members of the House and Senate who stood with the people of Michigan, and we're grateful for their help in repealing the misguided 1945 law that caused so much pain once and for all," Wszolek said, according to the Detroit News.

His group is now reportedly circulating petitions to revise a separate law, passed in 1978, that enabled Whitmer's administration to extend public health orders, such as capacity and masking restrictions, indefinitely without approval from lawmakers.

Wszolek said Whitmer also "abused" that law "to destroy lives, businesses, and futures."

Certainly, Michiganders have endured some of the nation's harshest lockdown policies since the start of the pandemic last March. Whitmer, though, has argued that her emergency directives were intended to keep residents safe.

Her allies, too, have warned that repealing the public health laws would only endanger residents.

"Today, House Republicans voted to eradicate an important tool for elected leaders trying to save lives and stop the spread of deadly, infectious diseases like COVID-19, Legionnaire's, tuberculosis and anthrax," Mark Fisk, a spokesman for Keep Michigan Safe, a group formed to oppose Unlock Michigan, said.

Michigan restaurant owner arrested for breaking COVID rules wants Gov. Whitmer jailed and fined for her recent violation



Michigan pizzeria owner Marlena Pavlos-Hackney was jailed and fined for violating Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stringent COVID-19 restrictions. Now she's calling for the governor to be jailed and fined for her most recent flouting of her own coronavirus rules.

What's happening?

Gov. Whitmer was caught Saturday partying with several friends at an East Lansing bar in clear violation of her own May 15 pandemic order banning indoor dining at restaurants by parties of six or more and by groups of people who "intermingle."

The governor — who had just updated the rule one week earlier — later apologized for her absentmindedness, saying that as she and her friends got caught up in the moment "we didn't stop to think about it." Hoping that her subjects would allow bygones to be bygones, she added, "I am human. I made a mistake, and I apologize."

Two days later, Whitmer announced that she was lifting the rule she violated and claimed that the rule change had been planned well before the weekend's events — despite the fact that the updated rule was only one week old.

The governor's apologies, excuses, and about-face on the rule did not sit well with Pavlos-Hackney, the owner of Marlena's Bistro and Pizzeria, who was arrested, jailed for four days, and fined $15,000 for refusing to comply with coronavirus rules and a judge's order to close her restaurant and stop serving food, MLive reported.

Now the embattled restauranteur wants the governor to face the same fate.

In a Tuesday interview with Fox News, Pavlos-Hackney said Gov. Whitmer is a "servant" whose duty is to the people — and she should let Michiganders to be responsible for their own health, not force them to follow special order orders.

The business owner indicated the governor's apology and request forgiveness should not allow her to avoid punishment.

"I feel like all of us should be on the same page," she said. "If I have to face penalties which I went through — which was ... handcuffs, shackles, four nights in jail, fined $15,000 — I think she should face the same penalties."

"We the people, we [are] all equal. It does not matter [that] because you're the governor, we need to forgive you," she continued. “Treat us with dignity and respect — and equally. We [are] all equal, we the people."

Pavlos-Hackney's attorney, Robert Baker, addressed Whitmer's previous COVID-19 controversies — including secretly taking a private jet to Florida after blaming travel to the Sunshine State for Michigan's high infection rates and participating in a George Floyd march without concern for social distancing — noting that "you can never underestimate the arrogance and hypocrisy of power."

"She violated the law," Baker said, "so her own gatherings and face mask order make those violations, each one of them, a crime, a misdemeanor punishable up to six months in prison and $200 fine for each individual infraction."

The lawyer said they were appealing the case against Pavlos-Hackney and "planning a federal lawsuit within the next couple of weeks related to this."

Michigan residents tired of lockdown mandates say they 'identify as fully vaccinated,' ditch masks



Fed up with stringent coronavirus restrictions, some residents of a small county in Michigan's Upper Peninsula are reportedly saying they "identify as fully vaccinated" amid new guidance that allows inoculated people to ditch masks in public.

The updated guidance issued last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which allows for fully vaccinated individuals to "resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing" — has inevitably led to some confusion over how to enforce mask and social distancing mandates in public.

And in a region of the country eager to be finished with the pandemic, some are taking advantage of that uncertainty, reported Kerry Ott, public information officer for the Luce, Mackinac, Alger, and Schoolcraft (LMAS) health department, to Michigan Radio.

"A lot of people are using the phrase, 'I identify as fully vaccinated' and taking their masks off," Ott said of Luce County residents. "I'm not kidding ...They're not vaccinated, but they're going to take their masks off."

In a county of 6,600 people where only three have died from the virus, the opportunistic behavior is meeting little resistance from public health authorities.

Ott has reportedly been telling local businesses there's not much they can do beyond making a "good faith" effort.

"We're just repeating what is in the governor's orders. We're not asking for people's [vaccination] cards. We're just asking for them to self attest their vaccination status. And if they say yes, we're telling the businesses, 'Then take them at their word and move forward,'" she said.

In the report, writer Kate Wells paraphrased a famous quote by former President Donald Trump to note that in the Upper Peninsula, and especially in Luce County, it can feel at times like "the cure is worse than the disease."

That sentiment was echoed by Raymond Mahaffey, or "Chef Ray," as locals refer to him, who is one of only 35% in the county who have been vaccinated.

"Ultimately, it'll all work itself out," he said, expressing he's not really worried about the virus anymore. "It's time to let nature take its course."

He added that he thinks the lockdown policies affecting schools and businesses have been too high a price to pay for an illness that is not markedly worse than the flu.

"Can you imagine if they said, 'OK, we're going to close the school for three months, and the kids are going to suffer, because guess what? Somebody got the flu,'" he said. "We got little kids in school that are passing [the virus] around, and they're as healthy as can be, but they've tested positive."

"There is no reason [for this] a year later, with the numbers being so small [here]," he continued. "[The restrictions have] been nothing but political. It's been crazy. And we can't wait to get it over with."

Michigan AG openly admits she jailed defiant restaurant owner for taunting the government and going on Tucker Carlson's show



Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel unabashedly admitted over the weekend that political motivations were at play in her decision to arrest a defiant restaurant owner in her state.

What are the details?

The attorney general posted a statement to Twitter on Sunday regarding the arrest of Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, a restaurant owner from Holland, Michigan, targeted by authorities in the state for continuing to operate her business in violation of the coronavirus guidelines.

In the statement, Nessel cited Pavlos-Hackney's repeated health violations, but also did not shy away from pointing to several political factors that precipitated Pavlos-Hackney's arrest — which apparently included an appearance the restaurant owner made on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" as well as her similarities to former President Donald Trump. Here's what the attorney general said (emphasis added):

Marlena Pavlos-Hackney had countless opportunities to comply with even the most basic health and safety protocols to protect her community from the spread of COVID-19. She defied her local health department and the court at every turn, instead choosing to taunt health inspectors, law enforcement and the courts at every turn — going on Tucker Carlson and setting up a lucrative GoFundMe account instead of making even the slightest effort to protect her customers, her workers and her community. She is no martyr and no hero. One cannot repeat the mantra of "Law and Order" and support the activities of Ms. Pavlos-Hackney. But if you cheered Donald Trump when he bragged about the many ways he avoided military service while others complied with their legal obligations, it's no wonder you revere this woman. Making personal sacrifice for the greater good of our state and nation was once considered admirable Not anymore.
Marlena Pavlos-Hackney had countless opportunities to comply with even the most basic health and safety protocols t… https://t.co/dJ4gsvXQUT
— Dana Nessel (@Dana Nessel)1616352160.0

Pavlos-Hackney, who had her food license suspended over her refusal to require masks or social distancing in her restaurant, had continued to operate her business in defiance of court orders. Then last week, she was taken into custody by authorities and threatened with 93 days in jail for criminal contempt.

What else?

On Wednesday, Carlson shot back at Nessel over the statement, calling her an "out of control" ideologue who "cares only about partisan advantage."

"She's also a bit of a dim bulb. Not a super genius," the anchor added. "That's why, when she was asked why she put Marlena Pavlos-Hackney in jail, Nessel actually admitted the real reason ... she said straightforwardly that Marlena Pavlos-Hackney had dared to come on this show at 8:00 p.m. and complain about her. That's no longer allowed."

"To compound the offense, Pavlos-Hackney tried to raise money for her own legal defense. That, too, is now a crime in Dana Nessel's Michigan," Carlson added.

Pavlos-Hackney has raised over $275,000 to cover legal fees through a GoFundMe page.

Tucker: Michigan AG arrested guest after appearing on this show www.youtube.com

Anything else?

Pavlos-Hackney was released from jail on Tuesday, according to WMMT-TV. The news outlet reported that a county judge had ruled she would remain in jail until she paid a $7,500 fine and agreed to close down her restaurant.

Republican lawmakers in the state have spoken out in defense of Pavlos-Hackney, who they claim was simply trying to support herself, her family, and her employees by keeping her restaurant open. They held a rally outside of her restaurant this week.