MINNESOTA’S WALZ MUST ANSWER ABUSE OF EMERGENCY POWERS CHARGE OVER COVID-19 ORDERS

Small Business Coalition & General Assembly Members Accuse Governor of Acting like "Drunken Monarch”

(July 15, 2020 – St. Paul, MN) Over a dozen Minnesota state legislators have joined ranks with the Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition to put the brakes on Governor Tim Walz’s “constitutional clown show.” A hearing in the case will take place, July 16, 2020, in Minnesota District Court. Minneapolis attorney Erick Kaardal is representing the group in a lawsuit against Walz, whom they are charging with overstepping his bounds and interfering in the legislative process, violating civil liberties of legislators, business owners, and 5.6 million Minnesotans.

“The Minnesota Constitution makes it clear that the state’s legislature is the body that enacts the laws and the governor vetoes or signs off. Governor Walz’s emergency powers are limited, and he is abusing that power over every single Minnesotan by his arbitrary and unfounded dictates,” stated Kaardal.

Kaardal further explained that businesses are being devastated by the governor’s orders, which are forcing them to remain closed. “When the governor issued his executive orders, he exceeded his authority under the Minnesota Constitution’s separation of powers principle regarding the non-delegation doctrine. He denied the legislature its rights regarding his orders and he invoked emergency powers for a public health emergency, an authority which he has no right to exercise. The end result of his autocratic behavior is that businesses are suffering, jobs are being lost, and people’s incomes have been devastated.”

Kaardal is committed to securing the civil rights of the plaintiffs, both business and legislative, and labels Walz’s gubernatorial behavior as incredibly irresponsible, stating that Minnesota’s governor has been “acting like a drunken monarch” at a time when he should be supporting American enterprise.

WHAT: Court hearing in Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition, et al. v. Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, Petition for Quo Warranto

WHEN: Thursday, July 16, 2020, at 10 a.m. (Central)

WHERE – COURT ADDRESS AND ZOOM ACESS: The Second Judicial District Court - Ramsey County Courthouse, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul MN 55102, #130, before Judge Thomas A. Gilligan, Jr.

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Meeting ID: 160 762 1084

WHO: Attorney Erick Kaardal, representing Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition, Minnesota State House of Representatives Representative Steve Drazkowski, Representative Jeremy Munson, Representative Cal Bahr, Representative Tim Miller, Representative Jeff Backer, Representative Mary Franson, Representative Glenn Gruenhagen, Representative Erick Lucero, Representative Joe McDonald, Representative Shane Mekeland, Senator Mike Goggin, Senator Scott Jensen, Senator Andrew Mathews, Southwest School of Dance L.L.C., Trev’s Kitchen, Prestige Gymnastics, Yoga by Blisstopia LLC, Title Boxing Club Coon Rapids, Title Boxing Club Arden Hills, Title Boxing Club Rogers, Duff’s LLC d/b/a Duffy’s Bar and Grill, Flaherty’s Arden Bowl, Inc., and Three Rivers Fitness

ONSITE CONTACT: Erick Kaardal, 763.486.5435

The group originally filed a Petition for Quo Warranto on May 28, 2020. This petition asked the court to ban Governor Walz from enforcing his COVID-19 executive orders and from issuing new COVID-19 executive orders. The document states that in the issuing of his first coronavirus related executive orders on March 13, 2020, and the 63 subsequent executive orders, Walz exceeded his legal authority. District Court Judge Thomas A. Gilligan, Jr., issued Walz an Order to Show Cause on June 8. Walz did respond with a motion to dismiss, and with the July 2 filing of the coalition’s response, the case has now proceeded to the hearing stage.

“By ignoring and overriding the responsibilities of Minnesota’s legislative and judicial branches,” Kaardal detailed, “The governor has dictated how many people can gather together, what businesses can open and which ones cannot, and has declared the COVID-19 an ‘act of nature’ rather than the public health emergency it actually is.”

In addition to robbing legislators of their authority, Walz has also reduced his 5.6 million citizens to “wards of the state” status. Kaardal explained it this way: “In Minnesota, when a child is made a ward of the state, it is only because there are no better alternatives. By refusing to take any of the available less-extreme options Walz has placed Minnesotans under his own thumb with his flagrant and unconstitutional curtailing of civil liberties.”

Read the Petitioners’ Memorandum in Opposition to Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss and Reply to Order to Show Cause Opposition filed July 2, 2020, by attorney Erick Kaardal for Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition et al., in Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition, et al. v. Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, at The Second Judicial District Court - Ramsey County, here, [https://www.tcpr.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/18-0-Response-Memo-and-Reply-Memo-7-2- 20-FINAL.pdf].

About the Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition

The Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition promote members’ efforts to preserve liberty and economic freedom by working together. The coalition includes non-profit organizations, ad-hoc groups, companies, public figures and individuals. For more information, visit freeminnesota.net.