(OPINION) Lisa Hanson, a former wine and coffee bistro owner thrown into jail for violating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s lockdown orders, told Fox News Digital that the now Democratic vice presidential candidate essentially “shut down and destroyed” her small business, warning Americans, “You do not want tyranny at this level.”
A mother of eight children and soon to be 18 grandchildren, Hanson said besides a speeding ticket she received as a teenager, she had always been a law-abiding citizen and owned businesses with her husband for more than 30 years.
At the time the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing in 2020, Hanson said The Interchange Wine & Coffee Bistro in Albert Lea, about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, had been open for eight years.
Her wine and coffee bistro initially complied with the shutdown ordered that March. However, Hanson said she watched for months afterward as Walz never fully re-opened the state for businesses deemed non-essential, such as bars, restaurants, gyms, dance studios, and hair salons. By contrast, the governor never shut down liquor stores, the “big box stores,” or even strip clubs.
“He shut down a lot of the mom-and-pop shops, those folks that were just trying to make a living and provide a great product and a great service,” Hanson told Fox News Digital. “In contrast, he allowed big box stores, etc. to stay open. Really incredible, an incredible use of tyranny against the people.”
Hanson eventually decided to re-open her business and defied Walz’s renewed shutdown order for bars and restaurants six times between December 2020 and January 2021.
She was convicted in December 2021 on misdemeanor charges and received the maximum sentence of 90 days and a $1,000 fine. Hanson ended up serving two-thirds of her sentence, 60 days.
“This is the story that America needs to hear, that Tim Walz is not some cuddly, joyful coach, like all the things that the MSMs are calling him,” Hanson told Fox News Digital.
“That is not who this man is. This man would like to take your rights away. He will take your rights away. Because what happened to me could have happened to anybody. What happened to me will happen to you.”
