August 14, 2024

Here's the latest idiocy from Fox not "news" to go after VP candidate Tim Walz. Expect to see a lot more segments like the one above from this Tuesday's Jesse Watters Primetime, where they're accusing Walz of acting like a dictator during COVID for heaven forbid trying to protect public health in his state.

Here are a couple of the COVID Karens they're propping up on Fox. One gave an interview to Fox digital, who Fox tried to portray as just some poor picked on grandmother that had her business shut down and was unfairly sentenced to 90 days in prison, as though that's Walz's fault.

Fox conveniently left out a few details about Hanson and why she ended up in jail:

The jury found Lisa Hanson, 57, guilty after deliberating for an hour, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. Prosecutors had asked that Hanson be fined $500 and jailed for several days, but Judge Joseph Bueltel gave her a 90-day jail sentence and a $1,000 fine, saying he wanted to send a message to people who violate executive orders.

“You wanted to make money over the interest of public safety,” Bueltel told Hanson. “You don’t recognize the law. You don’t think you’re subject to the law.”

Hanson had flaunted her defiance of an order from the governor to shut bars and restaurants to indoor service and dining late last year. She represented herself during the three-day trial and mostly argued that Walz’s orders were unconstitutional.

“Liberty and freedom,” Hanson shouted as she was taken into custody by a sheriff’s deputy.

They also failed to mention she didn't show up for court:

The Albert Lea business owner who defied state COVID-related restrictions at her wine and coffee bar and failed to show up for a bail hearing last month was arrested Thursday in Iowa.

Lisa Hanson, who was released late Thursday afternoon from jail after posting $2,000 bail, told the Star Tribune that she still plans to speak Saturday at a previously scheduled "Stand for Liberty" rally at an Albert Lea park.

Asked how she felt about being arrested, she said: "If I had done something wrong, I would have deserved it. I have not done anything wrong. I have followed the law on all accounts."

Defiant and thinks she's above the law. Sounds like someone else I know.

The second COVID Karen they trotted out of Watters' show is Lisa Zarza, who is another piece of work. She also repeatedly ignored lockdown orders, and the co-owner of her business, Ricardo Baldazo, appears to be even crazier than she is:

Lakeville city officials say they won’t take action against the liquor license of Alibi Drinkery even though the co-owner’s been charged with attempted murder.

The Lakeville bar and its patrons have earned a national reputation for spirited rebellion or foolhardy risk taking, depending on one’s perspective, for repeatedly opening in defiance of Gov. Tim Walz’s pandemic restrictions.

Ricardo Baldazo, 39, of Prior Lake, is charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder and two counts of first-degree assault for allegedly firing off numerous rounds in his mother’s Burnsville house and an ensuing standoff with police on Sept. 2.

[...]

The governor has banned indoor dining and bars from selling alcohol inside since Nov. 20 to address rising COVID-19 cases, and Alibi Drinkery was one of a handful of businesses that repeatedly reopened in defiance of the order.

The Department of Public Safety took civil action to suspend Alibi’s liquor license for 60 days, but the bar owners reopened again after that, saying their license couldn’t be suspended until after a hearing. Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office got a temporary restraining order on Dec. 25 to force Alibi to close, but it has repeatedly reopened, prompting the state to threaten to yank its license for five years.

But co-owner Lisa Monet Zarza has not backed down, posting on social media Monday that the bar was “still open” despite the court ruling and a contempt of court hearing Tuesday. *A judge found the bar owners in contempt of court Thursday for violating its Dec. 31 temporary injunction and ordered the bar to pay a daily fine of $3,000 for every day it violates the governor’s executive orders and temporary injunction, effective Thursday.

Alibi’s attorney, Mike Padden, argued the bar has taken a huge financial hit and may not survive the pandemic shutdown.

“This is what the Jewish went thru (sic) in Nazi Germany,” Monet wrote. “WHEN WILL THIS TYRANNY END?”

And here's more on Baldazo: Alibi Drinkery co-owner charged with smacking Jimmy John’s worker after companion asked to wear a mask:

The co-owner of Alibi Drinkery, who made headlines for refusing to shutter his bar in compliance with state COVID-19 restrictions, was charged Thursday with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct after allegedly smacking a Jimmy John’s manager in Rosemount after his companion was asked to wear a mask.

Ricardo M. Baldazo, 39, of Prior Lake was charged with two counts of fifth-degree assault and one count of disorderly conduct, according to Rosemount Police Chief Mikael Dahlstrom. He was not arrested but will instead receive a summons.

A video of the incident circulated on Facebook after the victim’s mother sought to identify the assailants. Baldazo and his bar co-owner Lisa Monet Zarza were quickly identified by internet sleuths.

Baldazo already faces two counts of first-degree attempted murder and two counts of fifth-degree assault for allegedly firing off numerous rounds at police from his mother’s Burnsville house on Sept. 2. Baldazo posted $750,000 bail on Sept. 11. One of the conditions of his release is that he remain law-abiding, and Dahlstrom said Dakota County officials have been notified of the new charges, which could result in his bail being revoked.

Here's video of the incident:

Which landed Baldazo back in prison.

And there's more. The two of them are also in trouble for depleting their business funds for personal expenses:

The former owners of Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville are facing new allegations in Dakota County civil court that they used the Limited Liability Company’s bank account for personal expenses, driving the account balance to zero in less than four months.

A lawsuit was filed against Alibi on Dec. 17 for violating Executive Order 20-99, which prohibited indoor food and beverage service, as the Lakeville bar and restaurant openly defied the Nov. 18, 2020, to Jan. 10, 2021, order by opening for indoor service for 14 days between Dec. 16, 2020, and Jan. 10, 2021.

During the course of the court’s discovery, the state in July obtained financial records for Lionheart LLC, which Zarza and Baldazo initially attempted to conceal by providing “heavily redacted” bank statements.

With the help of third parties, the state found that the company’s bank account was overdrawn as owners Lisa Zarza and Ricardo Baldazo allegedly dispersed $177,944 from mid-December 2020 to March 2021 for personal expenses, such as for jewelry, cosmetic surgery, airline tickets and motorcycle rental, along with making cash payments to themselves.

The state says the alleged activity, which occurred as their case was being litigated, violates the Uniform Voidable Transfers Act.

The state alleges that Zarza and Baldazo knew depleting the account would “adversely impact the State’s ability to both secure and collect assets necessary to collect on any potential judgment obtained in the litigation.”

For the insolvency of the company, the state said Zarza and Baldazo breached their fiduciary duty and had an obligation to preserve assets for any creditor, which included the state of Minnesota.

The state claims that Zarza and Baldazo were aware that they had to maintain funds equal to the value of their legal liabilities.

The only people these two nuts are going to appeal to are the hard core MAGAs who are still pushing conspiracy theories about COVID lockdowns. Fox continually tried to kill off large portions of their audience during COVID by downplaying the health risks from the virus, so it's not surprising that they're using this line of attack against Walz now.

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