A Trump-appointed federal judge in Pennsylvania has struck down Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's COVID-19 safety restrictions, calling them "arbitrary" and "unfettered" government overreach.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic restrictions that required people to stay at home, placed size limits on gatherings and ordered “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, sided with plaintiffs that included hair salons, drive-in movie theaters, a farmer’s market vendor, a horse trainer and several Republican officeholders in their lawsuit against Wolf, a Democrat, and his health secretary.
The Wolf administration’s pandemic policies have been overreaching, arbitrary and violated citizens’ constitutional rights, Stickman wrote in his ruling.
The governor’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus “were undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public health emergency,” Stickman wrote. “But even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered.”
Courts had consistently rejected challenges to Wolf’s power to order businesses to close during the pandemic, and many other governors, Republican and Democrat, undertook similar measures as the virus spread across the country.
Wolf has since lifted many of the restrictions, allowing businesses to reopen and canceling a statewide stay-at-home order.
But over the summer, his administration imposed a new round of statewide pandemic restrictions on bars, restaurants and larger indoor gatherings in response to rising infection rates in some virus hot spots. The state has also imposed a gathering limit of more than 25 people for events held indoors and more than 250 people for those held outside.
A spokesperson for Wolf said the administration was reviewing the decision.
Trump of course couldn't be happier as he defied Nevada's rule on indoor gatherings over the weekend with an indoor rally of several thousand, most without masks.
After failing to arrange alternative venues in the Las Vegas area, the campaign decided to hold the rally indoors at the Xtreme Manufacturing facility, owned by his friend Don Ahern, Trump said.
“They canceled six different sites because the governor wouldn’t let it happen, all external sites,” the president said.
The evening reflected a split seen across the country between Americans who want fewer restrictions imposed by state and local governments and those who believe that Trump should not encourage his supporters to risk their health in order to express their political opinions.
Trump said in his interview with the Review-Journal that he is not afraid of getting the coronavirus from speaking at the indoor rally.
“I’m on a stage and it’s very far away,” Trump said. “And so I’m not at all concerned.”
“I’m more concerned about how close you are, to be honest,” Trump told a Review-Journal reporter who thought she was socially distanced.
Trump had no worries about if he'll be infected.
As for the thousands in the crowd?
They all signed waivers, you see. Sorry if your cult worship kills you, or if you spread the virus to others around you. Not Trump's fault, you see.
Hope you voted early, you will be missed.
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