Michigan County Blasts Ongoing Lockdown: Restrictions Unseen ‘Since Days of King George III’

A northern Michigan county blasted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ongoing coronavirus lockdown, claiming residents have not endured such restrictions “since the days of King George III.”

Baraga County’s five commissioners, along with Sheriff Joe Brogan, Prosecuting Attorney Joseph P. O’Leary, Treasurer Jill Tollefson, and Clerk and Register of Deeds Wend Goodreau issued a “manifesto” saying Michigan needs to return “to the ranks of freedom-loving government everywhere,” WJMN reported.

“Since March 10, 2020 the People of the State of Michigan have endured restrictions on their freedom which have not been seen in North America since the days of King George III and the American Revolution,” the group wrote, adding:

In the face of a worldwide pandemic our political leadership in Lansing has ignored the protections guaranteed to all America citizens by the Bill of Rights in favor of medical models designed to predict the course of a still, for the most part, unknown virus. The result has been the unilateral adoption of clearly unconstitutional measures which treat human beings like herd animals and which arbitrarily pick economic winners and losers.

Our citizen’s rights to assemble, to freely practice their religion, to travel, to keep their property, businesses and jobs, even to dress how they please have all been swept aside, and to what end? The pandemic rages on and Lansing’s failed efforts to control the spread of the virus is blamed on the People themselves rather than the scientific community’s admitted lack of data and understanding of COVID-19.

Enough is Enough. We have taken an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, an oath we take very seriously. Accordingly, we hereby put the State of Michigan on NOTICE that we have no intention of participating in the unconstitutional destruction of our citizen’s economic security and Liberty. We further declare our intention to take no action whatsoever in furtherance of this terribly misguided agenda. Finally, we call upon the Michigan Legislature to exercise their co-equal authority by adopting constitutionally sound measures of which limit the unchecked exercise of executive power, which restore individual responsibility and accountability, and which return Michigan to the ranks of freedom-loving governments everywhere.

Brogan posted the document on Facebook, saying all of the county’s elected officials “have no intention of participating in the unconditional destruction of our citizens’ economic security and liberty.”

He also indicated the group, which included the county’s top two law enforcement officials, declared their “intention to take no action whatsoever in furtherance of this terribly misguided agenda.”

The manifesto comes as Whitmer’s restaurant lockout is scheduled to expire on Friday.

Baraga County, which has a population of about 8,800, is in the western Upper Peninsula.

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.