Blaze News original: Let us never forget how COVID lockdown lunacy, tyranny, and hypocrisy harmed all of us

Earlier this month, Blaze News took a deep dive into the left's reprehensible behavior toward fellow Americans who refused COVID jabs.

Now we're looking at the immense harm that COVID lockdown lunacy, tyranny, and hypocrisy brought upon us all.

'We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads.'

One of the curious parallels within numerous lockdown scenarios in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic was the number of officials, particularly governors, who used the phrases "save lives" and "saving lives" to explain why everybody had to stay home. It's uncanny — as if they were parroting a script. We've bolded such utterances in the forthcoming vignettes.

Then there was the hypocrisy of such elected officials who ignored their own edicts while enforcing them for the rest of us. Such as the Democrat governor who told people to "stay home except for essential activities" — and then was spotted at a wine bar without a mask. Or the Democrat Chicago official caught violating lockdown rules at his restaurant. Or the Democrat mayor of Austin, Texas, who apologized after sending a "stay home" message — from his Mexico vacation spot. Or San Francisco's then-Democrat mayor who said more severe COVID-19 restrictions were on the way after she was caught dining at a fancy restaurant. Or then-mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney — as far left as they come — getting called out after he was seen dining inside a Maryland restaurant while eateries in his own city "suffer" from his ban on indoor dining.

Can we go on? You bet we can.

Among the most egregious instances of political leaders' COVID lockdown hypocrisy occurred when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was busted using a shuttered salon for services despite a lockdown in San Francisco. The far-left politician actually claimed she was "set up" by the salon, and that she was owed an apology rather than the other way around. In the same neck of the woods, photos emerged of far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining unmasked with a large party at a ritzy Napa restaurant. And who can forget when then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot got a haircut after banning barbers and salons from opening during the early months of the pandemic. She defended the move by telling critics, "I'm the public face of this city." Then Lightfoot broke her own rules again — and again.

In the meantime, churches and business shut their doors — and many never reopened. Not being able to go outside and being prevented from earning a living and getting cut off from human interaction led to dire consequences. Young people seriously considered suicide. Some carried out the act. Parents' resources were stretched to the limit when their children no longer could attend school in person.

In the end, numerous experts gave lockdowns a failing grade. Johns Hopkins researchers concluded that lockdowns had "little to no effect" on COVID-19 deaths but "imposed enormous economic and social costs." A Stanford medical school professor declared that COVID-19 lockdowns were the "biggest public health mistake we've ever made." Then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr said COVID-19 lockdowns were the "greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history" besides slavery.

All that said, get ready for more "fun" — and take a look back at some of the worst behavior by those in power against everyday people amid COVID-19 lockdowns.

Never forget.

Michigan suspends license of elderly barber who vowed to keep his shop open until 'Jesus comes.' He was operating in defiance of left-wing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID lockdown edict.

Michigan state regulators suspended the license of 77-year-old barber Karl Manke in May 2020 after he reopened his Owosso shop in defiance of Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home orders. Manke had previously vowed to keep his business open until "Jesus comes," his attorney said the state's actions were out of "pure retribution," and it became a national story.

The elderly barber attracted a lot of defenders. Michigan militia members promised to guard him from arrest, and a Shiawassee County Circuit Court judge refused to sign a temporary restraining order against him without first holding a hearing.

When state regulators suspended Manke's license, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel argued that "it is paramount that we take action to protect the public and do our part to help save lives." Nessel later ripped Manke as "not a hero to me" and "not a patriot."

But Manke was undeterred. He told demonstrators on the steps of the state Capitol during "Operation Haircut" — a protest he inspired that featured barbers and stylists giving free haircuts in defiance of Whitmer's social distancing requirements — that the governor's lockdown was akin to Nazis tricking Jews to get into "cattle cars" during Holocaust.

Whitmer also was undeterred. In October 2020 she actually told Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press" that "if you're tired of lockdowns, or you're tired of wearing masks, or you wish you were in church this morning or watching college football or your kids were in-person instruction, it is time for change in this country, and that's why we've got to elect Joe Biden."

The day after Whitmer's campaign stop with Todd, criminal charges against Manke for reopening his barber shop were dropped. By March 2023, Whitmer admitted that her lockdown measures didn't "make a lot of sense" and that "maybe that was a little more than what we needed to do."

New Jersey orders — cough, cough — tulip farm to cease drive-thru tours because it violates left-wing Governor Phil Murphy's COVID executive orders

In April 2020, Dalton Farms in Swedesboro said in a Facebook post that "we were ordered to cease all operations by an Assistant Prosecutor from the State of New Jersey."

At issue was Dalton Farms' popular tulip tours at its 99-acre property, the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reported, adding that the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office ordered the shutdown because the tours violated Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's coronavirus executive orders.

Murphy defended his lockdown policy: "The fact of the matter is this is about saving lives, and we're going to do what we can to save lives."

A week prior to the tulip farm kibosh, Murphy told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that he "wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights" when he issued an executive order banning gatherings of more than 10 people to stem the tide of COVID-19 — including religious services — which resulted in multiple arrests.

"We are really damned unhappy" about disobedient residents "and we're going to take action," Murphy declared earlier in April 2020, according to the Atlantic City Press. He added to the paper there are "too many people not paying attention" to his order and "we've about had it."

To wit:

• Also in April 2020, a woman who organized an anti-lockdown protest outside the New Jersey State House in Trenton was charged with violating Murphy's stay-at-home orders.
• Police busted attendees of a bonfire party on the banks of the Pennsauken Creek in Cinnaminson in April 2020 for defying Murphy.
• Cops shut down a "corona party" in Rumson in April 2020 featuring 30 middle-aged folks assembled on the front lawn of a house — and spilling into the street — listening to a pair of guitarists perform songs by famed British rock band Pink Floyd.
• In late March 2020, police arrested a man for hosting a "corona party" with 47 guests in his 550-square foot apartment in Ewing. "NO CORONA PARTIES. They're illegal, dangerous, and stupid," Murphy declared. "We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads."
• Earlier in March 2020, two state residents were arrested for hosting gatherings of over 50 people in defiance of Murphy's executive order. One of the gatherings was a pop-up wedding held at a resident's home.
• Brian Brindisi — owner of Lakeside Diner in Lacey Township — in August 2020 told the Asbury Park Press there's no way authorities will stop him from providing indoor service at his establishment despite Murphy's executive orders. "There's only two ways they're going to get me out of here ... in handcuffs or a body bag," Brindisi said, according to the paper.

Oh, and in November 2020, a pair of women cursed out Murphy — who just extended his executive order for COVID-19 restrictions — while he was dining with his family outside a restaurant.

Church members get $500 tickets for sitting in their vehicles with windows closed in church parking lot during radio broadcast of service

In April 2020, members of Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, stayed in their vehicles with the windows rolled up in the church parking lot to listen to Pastor Arthur Scott's sermon on the radio.

They figured that counted as abiding by coronavirus social distancing guidelines — but one couple said police issued them a pair of $500 tickets for not leaving the parking lot. Yes, there's video of police laying down the law.

Democrat Mayor of Greenville Errick Simmons issued an executive order that all church buildings are to be closed for both in-person and drive-in services — and that the Temple Baptist parking lot service was in direct defiance of that order, the Delta Democrat-Times reported.

"It's all about trying to save lives," the mayor added to the paper. "If people continue to gather, it's going to spread."

Patrol boats actually chase ocean paddleboarder — then sheriff's deputies arrest him for defying left-wing California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order

A Malibu paddleboarder was chased down April 2, 2020 — among the earliest days of COVID lockdowns all over America — by patrol boats and arrested for defying California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order. You can view the rather over-the-top video here of the chase and arrest.

By October 2022 — well over two years later — Newsom was still saying that "throughout the pandemic, we’ve been guided by the science and data – moving quickly and strategically to save lives."

Police issue citation, fine woman who was just 'going on a drive' amid coronavirus stay-at-home order

Pennsylvania State Police cited a woman in March 2020 for going on a leisurely drive amid the coronavirus outbreak. According to Pennlive, 19-year-old Anita Shaffer went for a drive just to get out of her house. On her way back, a pair of troopers stopped Shaffer.

During the stop — which the troopers initiated over a faulty taillight and dark window tint — Shaffer told the troopers she was just "going for a drive." The officers responded by writing her a ticket fining her more than $200 for violating Pennsylvania's stay-at-home order.

Then-Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said in May 2020 that “our actions, our collective decisions to stay at home and avoid social contact – we know that all of that saved lives."

Far-left New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio rules 'no swimming' at beaches for Memorial Day — and anyone caught will ‘be taken right out of the water’

"If you want to walk on the beach, fine," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a May 18, 2020 news conference regarding the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. "But no swimming, no lifeguards, no parties, no barbecues, no sports." He also warned, "Anyone tries to get in the water, they'll be taken right out of the water."

It wasn't immediately clear why swimming, among all beach activities, drew the ire of de Blasio. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to people through bodies of water. Though the mayor did add that swimming is dangerous because lifeguards won't be around.

During a March 2020 news conference on COVID-19, de Blasio said, "Our job is now to focus on what we need to do to save lives."

Dallas salon owner sentenced to 7 days in jail, hit with thousands in fines for refusing to close amid COVID-19 — but she gets the last laugh

Shelley Luther, owner of Salon a la Mode, reopened her business on April 30, 2020, in violation of Texas' statewide lockdown of nonessential businesses during the early days of COVID-19. She argued that she was behind on her mortgage and that the government has no right to prohibit citizens from working to provide for their families. In the end she was sentenced to seven days in jail and fined thousands of dollars.

But things soon began to turn in Luther's favor in early May: A GoFundMe page for her received nearly $500,000 in donations after her jailing. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott called for her release. Within days Luther was set free.

Soon after her release, Luther entered politics. After initial defeats, Luther — a Republican — won the Texas state House seat for District 62 in November 2024.

California city dumps 37 tons of sand into skate park to prevent kids from skating during coronavirus lockdown

The city of San Clemente, California, filled a skate park — at taxpayer expense — with 37 tons of sand in April 2020 to prevent kids from skating amid the coronavirus lockdown.

"Some kids are very blessed and come from great homes, but on the flip side there are kids who don't come from good homes and there are some skaters who might fall into that category," said Stephanie Aguilar, president of the San Clemente SkatePark Coalition, in a follow-up interview with Blaze News. "For those kids, the skatepark was an outlet."

Cops arrest Idaho mother of 2 for taking her kids to a park that was closed over COVID lockdowns

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Police in Meridian, Idaho, arrested a mother of two in April 2020 after she violated the city's ban against using playground equipment at a local park amid the COVID outbreak. The arrest was caught on cellphone video. Sara Brady was charged with one count of misdemeanor trespassing.

Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck interviewed Brady on his radio program, and she posed the following question: "How can someone like me be considered a criminal because I just wanted to take my kids to the park?"

Interestingly, while Republican Gov. Brad Little issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020, listed among "essential activities" — i.e., permitted — was "outdoor activities." However, gatherings of more than 10 people were not allowed.

New Mexico's Democrat governor fines churches $10,000 each after videos of Christmas Eve services go viral; governor's spokesperson implies pastors are 'pro-virus'

New Mexico's Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham fined two churches $10,000 each in December 2020 for violating the state's social distancing requirements, and her communications director released a statement accompanying the fine implying that the pastors involved were "pro-virus."

Legacy Church and Cavalry Church — described as "megachurches" by KOAT-TV — both attracted attention after they posted videos on their respective social media sites showing hundreds of attendees gathered singing Christmas carols during Christmas Eve services. Those videos garnered significant attention on social media and ultimately led to news stories from local media outlets, which seems to have prompted the governor's actions.

In November 2020, Grishman stated in regard to her latest COVID stay-at-home order that "I want to save lives."

Sheriff's deputies get ridiculously testy with mother in her yard for letting her daughter 'play at other people's home' amid coronavirus lockdown

A pair of sheriff's deputies in Wisconsin got testy after they showed up outside a woman's home in the spring of 2020 and began lecturing her about the coronavirus — and for your entertainment, the rather unbelievable verbal sparring was all captured on cellphone video.

"Are you aware that we're in a stay-at-home order right now?" the first deputy asked the woman, addressing her as "Amy."

"Yeah, obviously," the woman responded, clearly astounded by the elementary question.

"By the government of Wisconsin?" he continued.

"Yes, I am aware," she replied.

"OK, you're aware of that? So I don't need to explain that to you?" he persisted.

"No, you don't need to explain that to me," she replied before the deputy cut her off and added, "OK, because I can if you need me to."

Soon she forced him to end his bullying Q&A by inquiring why he was with another deputy — neither or whom were wearing masks or gloves — in her driveway that was adorned with children's chalk drawings.

He replied, "'Cause your daughter is going to play at other people's home, and you're allowing it to happen."

The deputy's vocal tone soon got quite ornery as he informed the mother that she can either acknowledge that she's been warned or continue arguing. Smartly she said she'd acknowledge the warning.

"OK," the deputy replied angrily. "Stop having your kid go by other people's home!"

The other deputy asked the mother for her last name for their records, after which Amy wondered why that piece of information was necessary — and the first officer blurted out, "Because you're violating a state order."

But the mom wouldn't budge — and wasn't willing even to disclose her middle initial to the inquiring deputy. "Are we done here?" she asked.

"No, we're not," the second deputy shot back. "Your middle initial and last name."

After the first deputy appeared to extract the necessary information over his radio, the second deputy actually told the mom "that'll be documented, too, that you were uncooperative."

Democrat Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in an April 2020 news release about COVID-19 restrictions that "Safer at Home is saving lives."

New Jersey gym owners arrested for defying left-wing Gov. Phil Murphy's lockdown order

The owners of embattled Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, New Jersey, were arrested on the morning of July 27, 2020, for opening in defiance of Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy's lockdown order. You can view video of the arrest here.

The arrests came after a Superior Court judge ruled that the governor had the authority to shut the gym down and that co-owners Ian Smith, 33, and Frank Trumbetti, 51, were in contempt of court for attempting to keep it open. Smith and Trumbetti were charged with one count of fourth-degree contempt, one count of obstruction, and one count of Violation of a Disaster Control Act, according to NJ.com.

The gym made headlines in May after the owners refused to shut down after Murphy's executive order called on all "nonessential" businesses in the state — including gyms — to close. Things heated up fast, particularly when five cops arrested one person outside the gym. But the owners refused to back down — and just a week after their July arrests, Smith and Trumbetti literally kicked down the government-installed barriers on their gym's doors to reopen again.

Things were far from over, though. Bellmawr's all-Democrat borough council revoked the gym's license. By December 2020 Smith said he'd received $1.2 million in fines, and ripped the "petty tyrant" governor. The following month Smith was sentenced to one year of probation for defying Murphy's lockdown orders. Finally, a New Jersey court in 2024 dismissed with prejudice all the municipal charges against Smith.

Los Angeles County mercilessly mocked for telling residents they can snitch on businesses that don't fall in line with coronavirus stay-at-home orders

On May 14, 2020, Los Angeles County issued the following post on X: "We know that businesses are working hard to adhere to the #SaferAtHome orders, but if you need to report a business for non-compliance, please call 888-700-9995 Monday-Friday (8 am-5 pm)."

Here's a sampling of the mocking comments that followed:

• "I'd like to report @CountyofLA for violation of the Constitution..."
• "OK Karen!"
• "#LosAngeles where illegal aliens have sanctuary but legal businesses have punishment."
• "Businesses are working hard to survive and be safe, but not as hard as you're working to turn us into East Germany."
• "1984 was a warning, not a textbook."

By September 2020, the county health department decreed that trick-or-treating was unsafe and would be illegal for Halloween — along with all carnivals, festivals, and parties with "non-household members." In a guidance document published by KABC-TV, the health department added that "gatherings or parties with non-household members are not permitted even if they are conducted outdoors."

Oregon's leftist governor tells residents to call cops on neighbors who violate her new COVID lockdown edicts

The week after Oregon's far-left Democratic governor Kate Brown declared strict new COVID-19 lockdown orders in November 2020, she then called on state residents to rat out their neighbors who might violate her new edict that limited social gatherings.

Besides limiting faith-based organizations to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, Brown also banned groups of more than six people gathering together in private homes.

As for snitching on neighbors, Brown said in an interview that it's "no different than what happens if there's a party down the street, and it's keeping everyone awake. What do neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it's too noisy. This is just like that. It's like a violation of a noise ordinance."

Brown also said people should understand that her new commands were "about saving lives."

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatens anyone who disobeys coronavirus lockdown: 'We will arrest you, and we will take you to jail'

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In early May 2020, then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatened to issue citations and even arrest anyone who violated coronavirus stay-at-home orders.

"We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we need to, we will arrest you, and we will take you to jail," Lightfoot said. "Don't make us treat you like a criminal, but if you act like a criminal, and you violate the law, and you refuse to do what is necessary to save lives in this city in the middle of a pandemic we will take you to jail, period."

The far-left mayor added, "If you host a party, promote a party, or go to a party, we are not playing games. We mean business, and we will shut this down one way or another. The time for educating people into compliance is over. Don't be stupid. We're watching you, and we're going to take decisive action."

Then-Police Superintendent David Brown said, "We have given enough warning. We're getting to the point where we're trying to save lives and if our message is not resonating with people who are promoting parties, or coming out to parties, we have to take that next level of enforcement to make sure that we save lives."

Lightfoot and Chicago police also encouraged residents to anonymously submit tips about anybody breaking the lockdown rules, including throwing house parties.

Speaking of overreach, the commissioner of Chicago's Department of Public Health in early August 2020 trumpeted that officials would use social media postings as evidence to issue fines against visitors violating the city's quarantine order.

Left-wing Los Angeles mayor orders utilities shut off for TikTok influencer's mansion due to lockdown-defying parties

In August 2020, then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered utilities cut off at a mansion where large parties were being held in defiance of social distancing guidelines. The New York Times reported that the mansion belongs to TikTok stars Bryce Hall, Noah Beck, and Blake Gray.

Garcetti previously said that the city would consider shutting off the utilities for nonessential businesses that were found defying the coronavirus lockdown orders.

Critics of the Democratic mayor noted that he had been photographed without a mask with a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters — despite stating in an April 2020 briefing that staying at home, along with other COVID restrictions, "is the way we will save lives."

Cops drag away woman holding 'We Are Free' sign while she sits on beach: ​'This is a power trip. This has nothing to do with the virus.'

A woman holding a "We Are Free" sign while sitting on the sand in Miami Beach in May 2020 was dragged away by police who arrested and charged her with violating an emergency order, trespassing, and resisting an officer without violence. Kimberly Falkenstine, 33, was protesting coronavirus-related beach closures and refused to leave after officers confronted her, WTVJ-TV reported.

The entire event was captured on video by a man speaking to Falkenstine as she walked to the beach with her sign. Approaching the beach's entrance, she marveled at the "ridiculous" number of officers patrolling the otherwise empty beach: "This is a power trip. This has nothing to do with the virus."

Other demonstrators at a South Beach park on the same day demanded that local officials reopen beaches.

​Teachers' union leader says 'white supremacy' fuels coronavirus reopening efforts — and concerns over lockdown suicides are 'white privilege'

The leader of a teachers' union in Washington state faced criticism in January 2021 after he said that coronavirus reopening efforts were fueled by "white supremacy" — and concerns over lockdown suicides were "white privilege."

"We must not ignore the culture of white supremacy and white privilege. We have seen it in the 'free to breathe,' reopen everything, rodeos and rallies that received county commissioner support. The same county commissioner directs our health," Scott Wilson, president of the Pasco Association of Educators, said at a school board meeting, according to the Tri-City Herald.

"No one wants remote learning, but it is the right thing to do. We know the equity concerns, virus transmission is high, heading higher, with so many ignoring and avoiding measures to stop the spread, remote learning is the right decision," he added.

'Super-Spreader Task Force' detains over 900, arrests and fines nearly 100 revelers during New Year's Eve raids

A "Super-Spreader Task Force" — courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department — cracked down on 2020 New Year's Eve parties, resulting in hundreds being detained, arrested, and fined.

The coronavirus lockdown enforcers crashed five large NYE parties in Los Angeles, Malibu, Hawthorne, and Pomona. The "illegal" celebrations were held in speakeasy locations such as upscale homes, vacant warehouses, a DoubleTree hotel, and shuttered businesses.

One frustrated New Year's Eve reveler told KTTV-TV, "We're tired of closing this s**t down, my people have lost businesses and all that s**t, and we really just wanted some fresh air, man, that's what's going on we wanted some fresh air, they come out with the tanks and all, man, s**t is crazy."

A month prior, then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told his constituents to expect more COVID-19 lockdowns, going so far as to say, "It's time to cancel everything."

Judges order ankle monitors for those exposed to COVID who refuse to stay home — even if they haven't tested positive

Judges ordered at least four people in Louisville, Kentucky, to wear ankle bracelets for repeatedly refusing to isolate themselves after being in contact with coronavirus patients. CNN reported in early April 2020 that two of the people fitted with the monitors haven't tested positive for the coronavirus.

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