A Michigan restaurant owner who was jailed and fined for violating COVID-19 restrictions said Tuesday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should face similar consequences for disobeying her own health department’s guidance too.
“I feel like all of us should be on the same page. If I have to face penalties which I went through … I think she should face the same penalties,” Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, who owns Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria, said on Fox News.
“We the people, we [are] all equal. It does not matter [that] because you’re the governor, we need to forgive you.”
The restaurateur spent four nights in jail and paid a $15,000 fine in February for violating the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, according to a report.
“Treat us with dignity and respect,” Pavlos-Hackney added. “We [are] all equal, we the people.”
Whitmer, a Democrat, was forced to apologize Sunday for violating the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, saying she made a “mistake” by crowding with 12 other patrons at a local pizzeria.
“Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been committed to following public health protocols,” Whitmer reportedly said in a statement.
“Yesterday, I went with friends to a local restaurant. As more people arrived, the tables were pushed together. Because we were all vaccinated, we didn’t stop to think about it.
“In retrospect, I should have thought about it. I am human. I made a mistake, and I apologize.”
The apology came after Breitbart first published photos of Whitmer, originally posted online by a friend, crowded with a dozen others at a table in an East Lansing restaurant — violating the state’s May 15 order that mandates a six-person maximum per table and that tables must be 6 feet apart, according to the Detroit News.
The photo quickly sparked backlash, with a conservative group criticizing the governor’s hypocrisy — and demanding Whitmer lift the pandemic restrictions.
“Whitmer continues to defy her own ridiculous restrictions while everyone else is forced to abide by them,” said Tori Sachs, executive director of the Michigan Freedom Fund.
