Covidiots

The Minnesota Pioneer Press reports: A group of Republican lawmakers and voters on Tuesday said it plans to bring a federal lawsuit against the Walz administration contending the governor’s mandate of face masks in public places, including polling places, violates state law and Minnesotans’ constitutional rights. A handful of voters along with the watchdog Minnesota Voters Alliance brought the action …

The Christian Post reports: Pastor John MacArthur is facing legal action after openly defying California’s restrictions on church gatherings. Now the embattled pastor is receiving special counsel from President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Jenna Ellis, and religious freedom expert Charles LiMandri. “I stand firm with Grace Community Church, its Elder Board, and Pastor MacArthur in biblical truth and the protections …

The Bradenton Herald reports: A Palmetto pastor and a state politician have sued Manatee County government over its mandatory mask mandate. And more than 100 people turned out Monday to support the anti-mask cause. The Rev. Joel Tillis and state Rep. Anthony Sabatini announced the lawsuit Monday morning outside the Manatee County Courthouse. Sabatini has filed 14 similar lawsuits against …

The Daily Beast reports: Claiming that the novel coronavirus that’s killed roughly 157,000 Americans isn’t “that much worse” than the flu, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) blasted the media on Monday for supposedly peddling COVID-19 “panic porn” and downplaying the so-called effectiveness of unproven anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine. Johnson, who last month insisted that the nation “overreacted” to the coronavirus pandemic,” appeared …

Fort Worth’s NBC affiliate reports: Kenneth Copeland, a televangelist who was a faith adviser to President Trump when he was running for president in 2016, is hosting an in-person event for more than 2,000 people in the largest metro area in Texas this month. The Southwest Believer’s Convention, held Aug. 3-8, is the first event held in the Fort Worth …

The New York Daily News reports: The captain and owners of a popular Manhattan party boat were arrested for defying coronavirus social distancing mandates and going for a crowded booze cruise, officials said Sunday. The Liberty Belle, a four-story river boat that can hold up to 600 people, had just returned to Pier 36 in Lower Manhattan about 11:30 p.m. …

Philadelphia’s ABC News affiliate reports: Police say a man who fired shots at an employee after refusing to wear a mask inside a Lehigh Valley cigar shop has been apprehended following a shootout. Adam Zaborowski, 35, of Slatington, Pennsylvania has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and reckless endangerment. According to authorities, around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, an officer …

A reminder from ten days ago: Former game show host Chuck Woolery’s son has Covid-19, a spokesperson for Woolery said Thursday. “Chuck’s son is fine and asymptomatic,” Mark Young, with Jekyll and Hyde Advertising, told CNN. Woolery made news late Sunday when President Donald Trump retweeted Woolery saying everyone is lying about Covid-19. “The most outrageous lies are the ones …

“After Pastor John MacArthur announced that his congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, would be assembling in obedience to the Word of God, he received a letter from Los Angeles county government officials threatening repercussions such as fines and even possible arrest. “But Pastor MacArthur said he isn’t worried about that—he and the church elders voted unanimously …

The Associated Press reports: Thousands protested Germany’s coronavirus restrictions Saturday in a Berlin demonstration marking what organizers called “the end of the pandemic” — a declaration that comes just as authorities are voicing increasing concerns about an uptick in new infections. With few masks in sight, a dense crowd marched through downtown Berlin from the Brandenburg Gate. Protesters who came …

The Cherry Hill Courier Post reports: A gym that was closed by the state reopened with a bang Saturday morning. The defiant owners of Atilis Gym kicked in plywood panels that had sealed the entrance to their Browning Road business since Monday, drawing cheers from a group of flag-waving supporters. “What really upsets me is it had to come to …

NorthJersey.com reports: A liver transplant recipient suffered a fractured left tibia after she was thrown to the ground on Wednesday by a woman at Staples after asking her to put her face mask on, police said. Police are searching for the suspect who assaulted 54-year-old Margot Kagan at the Hackensack Avenue Staples, said Capt. Darren DeWitt. Kagan was using one …

Allentown’s Morning Call reports: Like many other retail stores reopening during the pandemic, workers at Cigars International have been balancing how to stay in business while keeping customers and employees safe. But on Friday, a simple request that a patron wear a mask while inside the Bethlehem Township store erupted in gunfire, leaving its staff rattled and police searching for …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Friday held a scaled-down campaign-style rally on an airport tarmac in Florida, drawing a crowd of supporters who packed closely together in a state that has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. The president landed in Tampa and was greeted by dozens of supporters who had gathered along barricades. Few were seen wearing masks, …

The Pensacola News Journal reports: A Florida man accused of threatening an Escambia County Grocery Advantage employee with an ax because he was asked to wear a mask was arrested on Monday. Michael Brad Evans, 42, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Monday after employees and witnesses say the man caused a scene, yelled racial slurs and …

Via press release from Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier: Congressman Gohmert’s behavior is not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous and reckless. He berated his staff for wearing masks and not wanting to be equally reckless. He tested positive the day after he sat in a committee hearing without wearing a mask, endangering others. Even worse, after he knew he had the virus, …

They never understand that the internet is forever: The conservative youth group Turning Point USA deleted a tweet mocking protective masks after its cofounder Bill Montgomery died at 80 of complications related to COVID-19. Two friends of Montgomery confirmed his death to Politico on Wednesday. In a tweet on Tuesday evening, Charlie Kirk, the group’s chairman, paid tribute to him, …

Fox News reports: Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, told “Hannity” Wednesday that he will soon begin a treatment regimen featuring the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine after testing positive for coronavirus earlier in the day. “My doctor and I are all in,” Gohmert told host Sean Hannity from quarantine. “And I got a text just before I came on from a dear friend, …

Newsweek reports: On Wednesday, Republican Pennsylvania State Representative Russ Diamond issued a statement about “hateful comments towards [the] unmasked community,” that is, people who refuse to wear masks during the worsening COVID-19 epidemic. One line in his statement seems to mock a comment about anti-LGBTQ discrimination made on Tuesday by Pennsylvania Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman. …

Earlier this week Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk said face masks cause you to “infect yourself.” And now there’s this: The co-founder of conservative student group Turning Point USA, Bill Montgomery, has died from complications of the coronavirus, according to two friends of his. Montgomery, who started it in 2012 with young conservative star Charlie Kirk, died at the …