Immigrant Business Owner Who Fled Communism Jailed For Staying Open, Supporters Back Her With GoFundMe
A Polish immigrant living in Michigan has been jailed by authorities after she refused to comply with lockdown orders the business owner says are unconstitutional.
Supporters are coming to the woman’s defense, rallying outside the courthouse, and dumping money into a GoFundMe account during these difficult financial times.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson reported Friday that Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, the owner of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria, was jailed for refusing to close her business.
“Marlena Pavlos-Hackney is in jail, she was arrested very early this morning before 6 a.m by police, taken away in ankle shackles and wrist cuffs … they grabbed her and they sent her away for longer than people who commit gun crimes in Detroit get,” Carlson told his viewers.
“We’re told she will be in jail for 93 days unless she pays a $35,000 fine and the Michigan Board of Health deems it safe for her to be released. She’s not going to pay; she shouldn’t pay.”
“The county judge who did this, Rosemarie Aquilina, defended the arrest saying that Pavlos-Hackney ‘has put the community at risk we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” the host continued. “By the way, they presented zero evidence that she had any role in the pandemic — none, no scientific evidence whatsoever. But they want you to know that defiance is the real crime.”
According to a report from MLive, the Polish immigrant refused to close her bistro following a November edict banning indoor dining. Pavlos-Hackney defiantly posted a sign outside her business emphasizing that she was staying open.
The sign read: “Welcome. We are a Constitutionally Compliant Business. We are not infringing on anyone’s inalienable rights. By law, we do not follow any of the governor’s, mayor’s, health department’s, or other government agency orders or suggestions pertaining to social distancing or mask-wearing.”
Pavlos-Hackney continued to keep her doors open and refused to comply with “social distancing” and mask measures, leading to fees, fines, and the suspension of her food license in late January.
Ingham County Circuit Judge Wanda Stokes subsequently issued a bench warrant on March 4 for the business owner’s arrest, MLive reported.
“I’m not afraid. I’m fighting for freedom in America,” she told the news outlet. Pavlos-Hackney also refused to turn herself in to the authorities.
Supporters gathered outside the country jail on Friday, the report noted.
On attendee, Rick Martin, a man who offered assistance to Pavlos-Hackney due to her struggles with the English language, said of the Polish immigrant, “This woman has ultimate faith in God and she knows what’s right.”
Judge Aquilina ordered the arrest of Martin for his apparent “unauthorized law practice” while trying to assist Pavlos-Hackney.
The Michigan Republican Party blasted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for the apparent targeting of the small business owner in a statement released Friday.
“Nessel is eager to spend taxpayer-funded resources going after small business owners trying to stave off bankruptcy but refuses to investigate the deaths of thousands of nursing home residents potentially caused by her political-ally Gretchen Whitmer,” said communications director for the GOP Ted Goodman, according to MLive. “It’s a massive abuse of power and shows what her priorities are.”
Even though Pavlos-Hackney was jailed Friday, her supporters packed her open restaurant for breakfast, the report detailed.
Supporters have also contributed over $260,000 for Pavlos-Hackney, who is currently facing legal trouble, fees and fines.
Organized by a man named John Rocha, the GoFundMe account details Pavlos-Hackney’s escape from Communism and her fight against Michigan authorities:
In 1983, Marlena escaped Communism of her home country Poland for the Freedoms and individual rights of These United States of America. She became a citizen in 1992 and decided to open her business, nestled in Holland, Michigan “Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria.”
Marlena is the pure definition of the American Dream and she exudes that everyday, grateful to be part of a country that upholds individual liberty and freedoms over totalitarianism and authoritarianism. Free from a Communist country her and her business thrived!
Then came 2020, Unconstitutional lockdowns from Michigan’s Governor Whitmer and her draconian lackeys at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Together, with no data presented, in defiance of the Constitution and the oath they took to uphold it, they shut down ALL restaurants.
Marlena had seen these edicts before and refused to lose everything she worked her entire life for only to live in a country that started to look like Communist Poland. She would remain open in defiance of tyranny and well within her protected Constitutional rights. But the government had other plans.
Like most authoritarian governments, the Health Department tried to shut her down with fines and fees. When she stood her ground, they revoked her license to operate a restaurant. Marlena is would not be deterred and like the Founding Fathers before her, refused to comply: She would continue to serve the patriots of her community.
This last week, in a court ordered Zoom appearance, without Constitutionally protected representation, the judge levied a fine and ordered an arrest warrant for Marlena. Finally, under tremendous stress and pressure, Marlena did what she knew was right: She continued to serve her community even under the possibility of arrest.
Now, she needs our help. Marlena has given me the blessing to help run this fundraiser for her as we met this week to go over this plan. The funds will be distributed to her and her restaurant to help offset the cost of running the business during this pandemic! Please Donate and Share this GoFundMe Page set up to help offset the mounting legal fees Marlena continues to incur daily, and to send a message to wanna be dictators everywhere: America is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, and together with like-minded Patriots like YOU, we can overcome and beat back Socialism! Be like Marlena. Be an AMERICAN PATRIOT! Donate TODAY!
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