Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are featured in the Heritage Foundation’s new “COVID hypocrisy” map for breaking their own COVID-19 rules and recommendations.
On Nov. 18, Walz issued Executive Order 20-99, which called for “a four week dial back on certain activities to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
In addition to banning indoor dining, the order also prohibited indoor and outdoor social gatherings with anyone from another household, even if social distancing was practiced.
The order stated that “organizers of prohibited social gatherings may be subject to appropriate enforcement action by city, county, and/or state authorities pursuant to paragraph 10 of this Executive Order.”
On Dec. 13, while this order was in effect, a local singer posted that she had just performed at the Walz household.
Per his executive order, Walz urged “all Minnesotans to voluntarily comply.” The order said that “an individual who willfully violates this Executive Order is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days.”
Prior to the Minneapolis riots surrounding George Floyd’s death, Mayor Frey was hesitant to allow churches and other places of worship to reopen.
In an interview with CNN in May, Frey referred to the reopening of churches at 25% capacity, or 250 people, as “a recipe in Minneapolis for a public health disaster.”
Minneapolis, Minnesota made it mandatory for people to wear masks in public indoor spaces.
Mayor @Jacob_Frey calls it “simply the right move.”
“They’re wearing masks in Minneapolis because it’s baked into our values. We want to look out for our neighbors.” pic.twitter.com/p9avwr03ek
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) May 25, 2020
Frey said Minneapolis was even considering “some form of emergency regulation … to prevent that number of people gathering in one place.”
Less than two weeks after his comments on CNN, Frey attended a massive protest in Minneapolis.
According to Fox News, Minneapolis announced that it would give masks to protesters who needed them, although the webpage with this announcement has been removed.
Demonstrators booed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey out of a rally on Saturday after he declined to commit to defunding the police. Read more about the protests in the U.S. here. https://t.co/zHv8ocIPXj pic.twitter.com/8WPMnyFXjP
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 7, 2020
Anna Miller
Anna Miller is a marketing intern at Alpha News and is majoring in entrepreneurship.
