[{"_1":2,"_97":-5,"_98":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6055844,"mediaKeyId","3313869-38ccffe6cc36dde24acd87c4a1500cae","parentId",3313869,"title","Restaurant owner Marlena Hackney tells panel she was arrested and had license revoked after defying COVID rules; AG emails cited","audioSeconds",1872,"startMs",2172000,"endMs",4044000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3313869-38ccffe6cc36dde24acd87c4a1500cae&start=2172&end=4044","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3313869-38ccffe6cc36dde24acd87c4a1500cae/thumbnail_2172000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6055844/Michigan/Restaurant-owner-Marlena-Hackney-tells-panel-she-was-arrested-and-had-license-revoked-after-defying-COVID-rules-AG-emails-cited","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6055844-0013786a856307e44360f0b11cee95ca/orig.mp4?Expires=1771201810&Signature=eRBZx66UDo~GnhVV300VJ9HwHOxPWURUR84J46mCtc4jAmgwEWJxAXRZDvtFqD4izijsDZNi3aku2WXkR0iaMIWi61FcUwHrepeTGX3NuhCjXacSUPDufUqnmWHhBzzEyJ~D4zU5JvSq5hvQwohZ4DRIW47MyNZtACazwsd5pT4bGXBzDXiaIlTBugmp4dPP8tTlBBBqmqW8aoMQa2iULkZ-VqtAsYpQQWRjBmJyyvGNa85Ws83xg8biG5VWCHdCFfKCZXzfbjEsucpnhg0UV8IWKw2nmUnDElSa~3m56EVLW-k~0KOXvCvyK7wHsVsFodWhraO5FKB5~hOYY1F6FA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Michigan House of Representatives","date","2025-04-23T00:00:00Z","article","Marlena Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro in Holland, told the Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government that state enforcement actions including a license suspension and an arrest followed her decision not to enforce COVID-19 mask and distancing orders at her restaurant.

Helen Brinkman, who identified herself as Hackney’s attorney, opened Hackney’s testimony by saying the case shows “the problem with the health department” and the risks of unelected administrators exercising broad control. Hackney said she initially complied with rules, posted signage explaining her policies and reopened in June 2020; she said she later refused to close when the governor extended emergency restrictions.

Hackney described receiving a corrective action plan from the local health department in early December and, on Dec. 12, being served a cease-and-desist order in her restaurant by two health department employees accompanied by two Holland police officers. She said no one arrested her at that time.

Hackney told the committee she later faced an administrative hearing where an administrative law judge suspended her food license, and she said a bench warrant for arrest was later issued. Hackney described an early-morning incident on March 19 when state police followed her from her car, blocked her driveway and arrested her; she said agents transported her to the Ingham County jail and she spent several days detained. Hackney said she refused to wear a mask during transport and jail intake on the basis of medical/HIPAA concerns and said she experienced shackling and cold cell conditions.

Brinkman displayed emails and an administrative-order document that, she said, showed the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services emergency orders and related MDARD/food-law enforcement were the stated basis for the license action. Brinkman told lawmakers the attorney general’s office sent emails suggesting officers should “pick her up before she goes on” a scheduled segment on Fox News with Tucker Carlson; the documents shown and quoted to the committee included a March email to the governor’s office about Hackney’s planned television appearance and a reply the attorney’s office later provided, which Brinkman said demonstrated intent to have Hackney arrested to prevent the appearance.

Hackney and her counsel said the Court of Appeals later found fines were excessive and directed the agency to refund or otherwise address the excess; Brinkman said the attorney general’s office sought reimbursement of attorney fees instead of returning the fines. Hackney told the committee she paid one previous attorney $70,000 and that proceedings remain active; she said fines originally assessed totaled $15,000 and that the Court of Appeals reduced or criticized that amount as excessive.

Committee members asked about venue, warrants and why Allegan and Ottawa County authorities did not execute the warrant; witnesses said local sheriffs declined to arrest her and that state police from Lansing carried out the arrest. Representatives questioned whether the warrant was known to counsel in advance; Hackney said she never saw the warrant at the time of arrest and that she had requested records and video and been told some material was classified.

Members expressed concern about the emails shown to the committee, the jurisdictional decisions that led to her transportation to Ingham County and the magnitude of fines and costs. Representative Shriver said the House previously sent a letter urging an end to what he called “political harassment and persecution” of Hackney, and lawmakers said they would consider legislative responses to administrative authority.

Hackney told the panel she fled communist Poland decades ago and framed her opposition to forced public-health mandates as a defense of constitutional rights. Her case remains the subject of further litigation and appeals, the witnesses told the committee.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Oversight - Weaponization of State Government Wednesday, April 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Marlena Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro in Holland, told the Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government that state enforcement actions including a license suspension and an arrest followed her decision not to enforce COVID-19 mask and distancing rules at her restaurant.","taxTitle","Oversight - Weaponization of State Government , Ethics and Oversight, House of Representative, Committees\t\t\t\t\t, Legislative, Michigan","taxId",80159,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6055849,"Barber Carl Mankie tells oversight panel he faced fines, license action and legal costs after defying COVID orders",1920,237000,2157000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3313869-38ccffe6cc36dde24acd87c4a1500cae&start=237&end=2157","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3313869-38ccffe6cc36dde24acd87c4a1500cae/thumbnail_237000.jpg","/articles/6055849/Michigan/Barber-Carl-Mankie-tells-oversight-panel-he-faced-fines-license-action-and-legal-costs-after-defying-COVID-orders","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6055849-0a22f315f12b02611ab42cf50cea1d0e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771201810&Signature=hngjefxBaEzelhM8seB~80HAIAQp-ROkjYN78q7TW2V4T87dgKihYv8LvyefXMIRceEBhO7wjynqgYwzi0JVFeAoiCJuzg04Kwje0LXj8dJh6aZaT53bnHQSVIOwXJH5S3Udh717KnM1G9sjpy5-6F4Pbm6dLJhFcbt02t7PXJ2MToWeBqOUiq5LNeo5V0LXXiFxd7hAXBcX5sNqtAPlVAp3qA8fgQcYzCdogk38l3~Ratljt7j9NadG2yDLd0PBTQv4adAIyCZ-rRQRfiuAMZDIkRLsBLunffmf0gJ3n6EeSPFbvC3-ZftfrQ8KDbHW9AeA~ww3bts2DKOPCdSxwg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Carl Mankie, a barber from Owasso, told the Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government that he reopened his shop during the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown and was later targeted by state enforcement actions.

Mankie said he first heard of the shutdown in March 2020 and initially closed his shop, but decided to reopen because he believed the governor was overreaching by issuing continuing executive orders. “I needed to go back to work,” Mankie said, describing barbering as his livelihood. He testified that he was visited by local police, state police and health department staff, and that he received citations and cease-and-desist notices.

Mankie told the committee he was fined $1,500 after health officials said they had seen a comb in his pocket, and that a separate $6,000 penalty followed for cutting hair on the Capitol steps; he said the combined fines were about $9,000. He said the fines ultimately were upheld on appeal by courts that reviewed the health department decisions.

Mankie said he did not receive notice or a hearing before his barber license was suspended and that he learned through later court rulings that the Michigan Supreme Court restored his license in a 7–0 decision. He also told lawmakers that the health department pursued enforcement after seeing him on television and that no inspector had entered his shop to cite him for the comb he described.

On the personal toll, Mankie said threats and stress followed the enforcement actions and that he spent substantial sums defending himself. When asked how much he had paid in legal fees and fines, Mankie said “$90,000 altogether.”

Committee members questioned Mankie about notices, the inspection process and the courts’ subsequent treatment of his case. Representative Pohotsky asked whether the courts had revisited his case after 2020; Mankie said appeals and health-department actions continued, and that courts ultimately supported the health department’s decisions on the fines. Representative Wolford asked how the state’s response affected Mankie’s ability to worship; Mankie said it strengthened his prayer life but that he missed receiving communion.

Mankie characterized his actions as standing up for constitutional rights. He told the panel, “I am the storm,” a phrase he used to describe his resolve to resist orders he believed were unlawful.

No formal committee action was taken on Mankie’s testimony during the hearing; members expressed sympathy and said they would pursue additional review of enforcement practices.

","Carl Mankie, a barber from Owasso, testified to the Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government that he returned to work during the 2020 COVID shutdown, was cited by police, fined by the health department, had his barber license suspended without his knowledge and incurred large legal bills; courts later issued mixed rulings.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":80,"_45":80,"_47":92,"_49":83,"_51":93,"_53":94,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":95,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":96,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6055839,"Oversight subcommittee adopts March 19 minutes",0,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3313869-38ccffe6cc36dde24acd87c4a1500cae&start=237&end=237","/articles/6055839/Michigan/Oversight-subcommittee-adopts-March-19-minutes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6055839-899b42036b915b2b3952bedec2eba3aa/orig.mp4?Expires=1771201810&Signature=HYg-V-O2v9U4X4b1qtiTc8CxVQhjCQRBZV5zfCBqxY0sXVKSgpT9ham~ftJJJ85yBenBU4oWC1VWmQv7HI2mSoXZPlv31tJIA~iE9E9bcyc~KcJyvSokRKTFG-JBGc8cIawXTBydIRS9MfHb6uMWXkMN4ha5d~0SUto8o6tO87TBJ5uyIxY7XhKpVafjMoAztmjMAeiBBr4aBXDrC1dbCJ7PgfPTsI6Eolw9rhvgX8CDLMqDX0uWK3qEaneUqMsOWiRm0Uu9k5mhuIwtpVfnhchAKlZXVo8nG~g8m19wVY7sy7MgX7j8adTLB~Fcg0fkslc~xSecC8pXm1rwweheEQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the start of the session the committee adopted the minutes from its March 19 meeting. Representative Shriver moved to adopt the minutes; the chair noted five members were present and, hearing no objection, announced the minutes were adopted.

No roll-call vote or recorded dissent was entered in the transcript; the adoption was announced by the chair as unanimous by voice.","The Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government adopted the minutes from its March 19 meeting by voice vote after Representative Shriver moved to adopt and hearing no objection.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Restaurant owner Marlena Hackney tells panel she was arrested and had license revoked after defying COVID rules; AG emails cited

Barber Carl Mankie tells oversight panel he faced fines, license action and legal costs after defying COVID orders

Oversight subcommittee adopts March 19 minutes