Democrat vice presidential nominee and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in 2020 ran a hotline for citizens to report on their fellow Minnesotans who may have violated his lockdown orders.
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Minnesota public health authorities set up a hotline to allow snitch on their fellow Minnesotans, which reportedly included the threat of jail for 90 days.
When then-Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R) protested against the hotline, Walz defended it.
“Please take this hotline down @GovTimWalz. It’s not necessary and it’s not how Minnesotans want to treat each other. We can all show a bit of kindness to our neighbors as we manage our times and needs differently in the stay-at-home efforts,” Gazelka wrote in March 2020.
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“It is being used, and we simply want to let people be able to call and let folks know. It’s for their own good. If we see people that may not be as informed on this, it’s an educational piece,” Walz said defending his snitch hotline to a reporter at the time.
Another Minnesota Republican, state Rep. Mary Franson called the hotline a practice for “ratting on neighbors” and used the hashtag “biggovernment” in her post on X, formerly Twitter.
The Minnesota Reformer wrote:
Walz has said that while his executive order grants him powers to fine or jail people who violate the stay-home order, his administration is telling police departments to warn people rather than issue citations. Violations carry penalties of up to a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.
The city of Edina cited such complaints when it decided to further restrict use of public spaces because residents were not adhering to social-distancing guidelines.
Walz also commended citizens for complying with the social distancing rules at the time, but admonished people for spending too much times outdoors, such as the lakes in Minnesota.
“We’re seeing crowds that are a little too big, especially around the lakes,” Walz said in March 2020.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
