Supporters rally behind jailed bistro owner accused of defying COVID rules in Michigan

A bistro owner in Michigan is garnering support from the community — and lawmakers — after being jailed for defying public health orders pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic.

Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria in Holland, was arrested Friday morning after refusing to turn herself in following violations of food laws, public health orders and a preliminary injunction, officials said.

The restaurant owner refused to close her dining room during Michigan’s 2020 dine-in ban, Michigan Live reported, and her food license was suspended in January.

Pavlos-Hackney continued to operate the bistro for more than a month, the state attorney general’s office said in a news release.

After a bench warrant was issued for her arrest earlier this month, Pavlos-Hackney said she wasn’t scared.

“I’m fighting for freedom in America,” she told Live, adding, “We have to stand up and protect our constitutional rights.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called her refusal to comply a “dangerous act” that may have exposed dozens of people to COVID-19. In early March, the Allegan County Health Department announced a customer had developed COVID-19 symptoms roughly two days after dining at Marlena’s Bistro, potentially exposing other diners.

A judge said Pavlos-Hackney would remain jailed until the owner could prove the restaurant had closed for good, WOOD reported.

“Should the restaurant open up again, there will be another bench warrant issued immediately, another pickup order, 93 days (in jail) and $7,500 (in fines),” Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Pavlos-Hackney, the outlet reported. “I don’t know how long you want to do this, ma’am, but we can keep doing it all year long. You must abide by the law.”

In response, Pavlos-Hackney’s attorney boarded up the restaurant Friday while supporters decorated it with signs — some reading “Free Marlena” — and caution tape to make it clear the restaurant was closed, according to local news outlets.

Supporters gathered outside the restaurant over the weekend and on Monday, four GOP state senators held a press conference at the location, The Detroit New reported.

They criticized the attorney general for jailing Pavlos-Hackney but not investigating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 nursing home policy, according to the outlet. The policy has been blamed for contributing to Michigan’s nursing home deaths — which account for 35% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths, The Detroit News reported.

“Marlena did not violate a law that the legislature passed,” state Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Wayland, said, according to WOOD. “Marlena violated an order issued from an unelected bureaucrat. No one should have to go to jail because one unelected bureaucrat makes an order.”

Some orders that Pavlos-Hackney defied were issued by the state Department of Health and Human Services under the public health code, which The Detroit News points out was granted that power by the legislature years ago.

Robert Baker, the bistro owner’s attorney, said Monday afternoon that all of Pavlos-Hackney’s $15,000 in fines had been paid and that a motion for her release had been filed, WXMI reported.

“She’s supposed to be set free,” he told The Detroit News. “We’re going to fight this the proper way, which is through the legal system.”

In light of Pavlos-Hackney’s arrest, other restaurant owners are urging each other to following COVID-19 rules.

Mike Karas, who owns Salt & Pepper Savory Grill & Pub outside of Holland, said he initially thought concern about the pandemic was overblown — then his father died from COVID-19, WOOD reported.

“I respect Marlena’s opinion — like I said, everyone has the right to that — but we took the opposite direction,” Karas told the outlet. “We immediately masked up.”

Matt Klaus, owner of Crust 54 in Holland, said he followed COVID-19 rules not because he wanted to, but because he didn’t want his business to be shut down.

“I 100% do not agree with her (the governor),” Klaus told WOOD: “This is the deck we’ve been given. We are operating as we see fit.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Supporters rally behind jailed bistro owner accused of defying COVID rules in Michigan."