A Michigan judge has ruled that a barber who defied the state’s stay-at-home order and opened his business does not have to close.
Karl Manke, 77, has kept his Owosso, Michigan, barbershop open since May 4, despite a license suspension, a cease-and-desist order, and a temporary restraining order from the state’s attorney general. A Shiawassee County judge ruled Thursday that he can remain open, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Shiawassee County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Stewart opted not to grant Attorney General Dana Nessel her request to force Manke’s closure, which effectively allows Manke to keep cutting hair.
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Borrello had ordered Stewart to hold a hearing on the temporary restraining order and issue his decision by end of business hours on Thursday.
Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun had argued in an affidavit that Manke’s shop was a threat to public health, but Stewart said not enough evidence was shown to prove that.
“The attorney general has not presented any studies underlying the doctor’s conclusion,” Stewart wrote in his opinion. “The attorney general has not shown any nexus between the cutting of hair and an increased risk of transmission. The attorney general’s filings rest more on general facts about COVID-19 than specific practices or conditions at Manke’s business.”
Manke has become one of the most recognizable faces of the anti-lockdown movement in Michigan and was one of 12 barbers to show up at an event Wednesday to cut hair for roughly 400 people who have been urging Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for weeks to ease lockdown restrictions.
Nessel said she plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
Nessel personally attacked Manke last week, questioning his motives for wanting to open his barbershop.
“Mr. Manke, he’s not a hero to me,” Nessel said. “He’s not a patriot. A patriot is a person that fights all enemies, foreign and domestic, and does everything possible to protect his fellow countrymen and countrywomen. And, to me, Mr. Manke is doing just the opposite of that, and he’s being selfish in his behavior in that what he’s doing is allowing the virus to spread.”
WATCH:
AG @dananessel says she doesn’t plan on arresting Owosso Barber Karl Manke, but she does have a message for him and his supporters.
“He’s not a hero. He’s not a patriot.”
MORE ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/nhbUcwnzWK
— Mikenzie Frost (@MikenzieFrost) May 13, 2020
“The government is not my mother,” the barber said to hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in front of the Michigan state Capitol in Lansing last week. “Never has been. I’ve been in business longer than they’ve been alive.”
“The government is not my mother. Never has been. I’ve been in business longer than they’ve been alive.”
Michiganders have had enough of Democrat Gretchen Whitmer’s nanny state
Whitmer is drunk on her own power! pic.twitter.com/pi94H0LxU3
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) May 14, 2020
