AG Dana Nessel Won't Say if She's Preparing ‘Enforcement Action' over Michigan Trump Rally
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will not say if she will “take enforcement action” against President Trump and his campaign for holding a rally in the state this week.
Before the rally in Freeland, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office said attendees were required to “adhere to social distancing,” WDIV reported.
Through an executive order issued by Whitmer, Michigan currently limits outdoor crowds to 100 individuals, but exempts “expressive activities protected by the First Amendment.”
The Detroit Newsestimated the crowd to be 5,000.
“We don’t provide advance notice of whether our office will take enforcement action,” Ryan Jarvi, press secretary for Nessel, told Breitbart News, adding:
That said, consistent with our position since the first executive orders were issued, violations should be reported to local authorities overseeing the jurisdiction in which the alleged offense occurred. We trust the law enforcement professionals who work and live in the communities they oversee to use their authority and discretion when addressing complaints of executive order violations.
That seems unlikely, as Saginaw County Sheriff William L. Federspiel said in July, “The Governor’s order regarding masks is not a law and has not been promulgated into law. We will not be treating it as such, nor issuing sanctions,” according to NBC 25.
“Deputies will enforce the laws of disorderly conduct, assault, and battery against anyone who creates a disturbance, threatens or attacks another. However, at all times the deputies will be directed to protect the constitutional rights of the public,” the sheriff’s office said.
“If the rallies are like those he’s held in recent days in other states, with lots of people close together without masks on projecting their voices, I’m concerned about it,” Whitmer said after the rally.
“This is not a partisan observation. We are in a public health crisis. We all want to get out of this public health crisis. It’s going to take every one of us doing the right things to get out of it together, to make this as short as possible.”
Breitbart News asked Jarvi if it was the Attorney General’s opinion that Trump had violated Whitmer’s orders.
“We can’t offer legal advice or opinions to the general public, and are not in a position to comment on the legality of the president’s actions,” he responded.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays. Listen to segments on YouTube or download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, and follow him on Parler.