Governor Whitmer has followed through on her threat to yank the license of Owosso barber Karl Manke.  The 77-year-old Manke reopened his shop last week in defiance of Whitmer’s Executive Orders.

He was ticketed by State Police and faces misdemeanor charges and a more than $1000 fine.    The local sheriff wouldn’t take action against Manke.   Nor would a local judge.   But Whitmer’s henchmen at the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs did take action and suspended his license.  Manke has been cutting hair for nearly 60 years.

Here are the three things the State cited for the action:

  1. Violation of Governor Whitmer’s Executive Orders
  2. They claim been charged with a misdemeanor
  3. He violated the Department of Health and Human Services order to cease-and-desist. That’s the very same order Circuit Judge Matthew Stewart refused to enforce on Monday.

Manke’s attorney, David Kallman of Kallman Legal Group PLLC, says all of these grounds are not reasons to summarily suspend his license without a hearing or any due process.

Kallman was reportedly putting together a petition for an emergency hearing Wednesday to have the license suspension lifted.   But Kallman worries that an Administrative Law Judge, working for the Governor, might not give Manke a fair hearing.

Kallman also notes that Facebook has removed Manke’s page and all evidence of what is going on.   He had nearly 400,000 followers.   Kallman said, “Obviously our Governor or Attorney General got to them too. People need to leave Facebook immediately and stop using them.”

Kallman says the governor is picking and choosing "winners and losers" in her phased reopening plan by allowing large manufacturers to reopen while big-box retailers have continued to operate throughout the pandemic.

Karl Manke's Barber Shop-Google Street View
Karl Manke's Barber Shop-Google Street View
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