Owosso Barber’s Attorney Will Fight Up to The Supreme Court if Necessary

A Michigan judge temporarily  denied a motion made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration that Owosso barber, Karl Manke, close up shop during the coronavirus outbreak. The state Attorney General, Dana Nessel,  lost in her effort to obtain a temporary restraining order.

The Attorney General’s court action, filed on behalf of MDHHS, sought to enforce the MDHHS Director’s Public Health Order that deemed Mr. Manke’s business as an imminent danger to public health in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and directed him to immediately cease operations at his barbershop.

The barber had been repeatedly fined for allegedly violating the shutdown orders, but his supporters apparently paid the fines. Early Monday morning, Manke’s attorney, David Kallman, says the Attorney General’s office filed a complaint with the Shiawassee County Circuit Court asking for Manke’s business to be shut down. The judge, however, denied the request.

“The courts are going to be deciding these things. Are these executive orders legal or not? It’s our position that they’re not,” said Kallman. In a Monday press conference, Kallman said that his law firm will back Manke all the way up to the Supreme Court. Manke has said that he will only leave “if they drag me out in the street or Jesus comes.”

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn