Michigan Restaurateur Arrested over Alleged ‘Violation’ of Gretchen Whitmer Coronavirus Orders

HOLLAND, Mich. — A Michigan restaurateur was arrested early Friday morning over alleged violations of state coronavirus orders, her legal adviser told Breitbart News.

Rick Martin said Marlena Hackney, purveyor of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria in Holland, was arrested one block from her home by Michigan State Police.

Hackney has refused to close her establishment despite multiple orders from the state to close after reopening last summer. She was told by a judge to surrender by Thursday, which she declined to do.

According to Martin, Hackney is on her way to Lansing — 100 miles away — to appear before a magistrate.

Michigan Capitol Confidential reported Hackney fled communist Poland as a teenager and came to America for freedom:

Marlena Hackney has lived under a threat of imprisonment since March 4, when Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development petitioned a court to enforce a shutdown order targeting Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria. The reason: noncompliance with emergency COVID rules on restaurant capacity, mask-wearing and physical distancing.

In an interview with Michigan Capitol Confidential, Hackney said in March 2020 she closed the business she has owned for nearly two decades, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a COVID emergency and imposed a first round of business lockdowns.

“I work hard. You work hard and you can accomplish many things. My employees depend on me,” she said.

“I’m the one who has to pay the bills. The city is not giving me a break on my property taxes,” Hackney told CapCon.

“It takes someone escaping communism to show Americans how to be American,” Martin told Breitbart News.

Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays–download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.