A 77-year-old Michigan barber whose license was suspended by the state government says Americans must begin taking responsibility for their own lives.
“The government is not my mother,” Karl Manke declared to hundreds of supporters gathered outside his barbershop in Owosso. “Never has been. I’ve been in business longer than they’ve been alive.”
A summary suspension order was issued on May 13, by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs against the Main St Barber & Beauty Shop.
In his three-page opinion, Circuit Judge Matthew Stewart said while state police troopers traveled to the shop to serve the order, they did not take Manke into custody “for committing criminal acts in their presence.”
Judge denies attorney general’s demand to shut down Owosso barber shop
MDHHS issued a Health Protection Order on May 8 and made the move for the temporary restraining order in court — filed by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office on behalf of MDHHS — after he did not close.
Manke reopened for business on May 4 in defiance of an executive order issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that closed barber shops, salons and other “non-essential” businesses.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement Manke’s actions in violating the governor’s executive orders “as well as other health orders put the public at risk for contracting COVID-19.”
“Anytime you have a barber or other professional providing services to numerous citizens in close proximity to each other and those citizens are then returning to their various residences, there is a risk of contracting and spreading the virus,” she told MLIVE.com. “It is paramount that we take action to protect the public and do our part to help save lives.”
Manke has vowed to keep his barbershop open until the state drags him out or Jesus comes back.