State Rep. Angela Rigas (R-Caledonia) today hosted business owners Marlena Hackney, of Holland, and Karl Manke, of Owosso, to share testimony at the House Oversight Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government. Both business owners faced prosecutions by Attorney General Dana Nessel for operating their businesses during COVID and violating the governor’s lockdown order, which had already been struck down as unconstitutional. Rigas, who chairs the subcommittee, said she found the testimonies very moving.

“This is the definition of weaponization of state government,” Rigas said during the testimony. “Your story has inspired me. You defied what we suspected was wrong.”

Hackney, who owns Marlena’s Bistro & Pizzeria in Holland, testified on her ongoing prosecution. Despite the governor’s extended lockdown order being struck down in October of 2020, Hackney was arrested and charged for violating the order in March of 2021. Hackney was taken to Ingham County by Michigan State Police and spent five days in jail and was forced to pay a $15,000 fine, twice the maximum fine for the violation.

“When I went to jail, they took my phone and they did a cavity search,” Hackney testified. “I was scared. They dressed me. They put me in a cell. It was cold. The heat was broke so I had a really cold room. I asked for help but they said they can’t help me.”

Internal emails from Attorney General Nessel and her office insinuate Nessel ordered Hackney’s arrest to prevent her from appearing on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight. Hackney testified that, four years later, the attorney general is still prosecuting her, and she has yet to provide Hackney with the warrant for her arrest.

“In a court room, they look at their intent based on what they say, and what they do,” Hackney’s attorney said. “She said in that email, that she was going to arrest her particularly to get her from going on Tucker Carlson.”

The subcommittee also heard testimony from Karl Manke, owner of Karl Manke’s Barber & Beauty Shop in Owosso. Manke also operated publicly in defiance of the lockdown order and appeared on several television networks. Manke was charged and fined $1,500 twice (once against him personally and once against his barber shop) after officials saw him on TV with a comb physically visible in his pocket.

“It’s highly unusual to be fined $1,500 for a comb,” Rigas said. “You didn’t have an inspector come into your barbershop and make that inspection and fine you for having that comb in your pocket like they typically would do? They saw it on TV?”

“No, nobody came in to inspect it.” Manke replied.

Manke was also fined $3,000, twice, for his role in Operation Haircut, which Rigas also participated in and was charged with a misdemeanor. Operation Haircut was a demonstration in 2020 where various barbers and hairstylists performed haircuts in front of the Capitol in protest of the lockdown orders. Manke said he was not charged that day, but roughly a year after the event.

“You were later fined for that?” asked Rigas. “How many months after the fact?”

“Maybe a year,” replied Manke. “Maybe it was when the health department finally decided what they were going to do. I was charged with violating health codes.

The meeting concluded after roughly an hour of testimony and time for questions. Rep. Rigas believes the testimony was very powerful and insightful into the behavior of the attorney general’s office during the lockdowns.

“These business owners were just ordinary people trying to provide for their families,” Rigas said. “The government was weaponized against them because they decided to speak out. This seems to be a common trend regarding the behavior of our attorney general. We’re going to keep looking and keep getting answers.”

Rigas is thankful for the testimony provided by Hackney and Manke.

“You stood defiant against an unjust order,” Rigas said during the hearing. “You were targeted for it, fined excessively, and denied your due process.”

For more information, please contact Rep. Angela Rigas at (517) 373-1403 or via email at [email protected]. A full recording of the subcommittee meeting can be found on YouTube here:

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