A second petition to recall Gov. Tim Walz from office was submitted last week after the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected the first.
With organizational help from Action4Liberty, the group Recall Walz aims to remove the governor from office and accuses him of breaking at least 16 laws in his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The first recall petition was dismissed by the state’s high court June 15, but those behind the recall effort say they “gained valuable insights” from the first attempt.
“This is not a defeat at all! We have exposed the governor’s defenses and are prepared for the real deal! In baseball terms, this was a foul ball – get ready for the home run swing,” an activist behind the recall effort said in a private Facebook group.
The first recall petition was rejected primarily because of a lack of specificity in the proposed one-page petition, and not because the case lacked merit, according to organizers.
The new petition outlines specific businesses and business owners who were harmed by the threat of gross misdemeanor charges under Gov. Walz’s executive orders.
“We hereby petition for the recall of Gov. Tim Walz due to the intentional misuse of his executive authority constituting serious malfeasance of office. Walz acted illegally and substantially outside the scope of the governor’s authority when he declared a Peacetime Emergency by classifying COVID-19 as an ‘Act of Nature,’” states a copy of the petition obtained by Alpha News.
“Walz then substantially infringed on the constitutional rights of many Minnesotans by issuing executive orders, with the purported force of law afforded during a Peacetime Emergency, infringing upon peaceful assembly and the free expression of religion as demonstrated by the mayor of New Brighton threatening church attendees with arrest and citing the executive orders as her underlying authority,” it adds.
Though the petition itself can’t be signed yet, the Recall Walz private Facebook group has gained 2,240 members in the last 30 days, and Action4Liberty has collected more than 50,000 signatures from people who are interested in the petition.
The Recall Walz group has implied on its website that if the second petition fails, there will be more to come.
The recall process requires the Supreme Court to find the governor guilty of malfeasance, nonfeasance, or criminal activity. The petition in question accuses the governor of malfeasance.
If there’s a conviction, then the petitioners have 90 days to collect approximately 646,000 signatures. A successful signature gathering would prompt a recall election, which requires 50 percent plus one to vote in favor of removing the governor from office.
According to the Recall Walz group, the second petition marks the first time a governor has faced multiple recall attempts in Minnesota history.
The second recall petition has been filed! This marks the first time in Minnesota history a Governor has faced multiple recall attempts! #RecallTimWalz #RecallWalz #Walz #MaskUpMinnesota
— Official Recall Governor Tim Walz (@Recall_Gov_Walz) July 22, 2020
Judah Torgerud
Judah Torgerud is a freelance journalist working with Alpha News to keep the people informed and bring the truth to light. Contact him at whqnu@nycunarjfza.pbz.
