Michigan AG Sought To Arrest Bistro Owner Defying Lockdowns Before Appearance On ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel allegedly sought to arrest a lockdown-defying restaurant owner before she went on Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss her story, according to a copy of an email obtained by the Michigan Capitol Confidential.

“Do we know her whereabouts? We should just have her picked up before she goes on. This is outrageous,” Nessel allegedly wrote in an email to her staff on March 12 regarding restaurant owner Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, according to the report.

The Michigan Department of Attorney General confirmed the authenticity of the email in a statement to the Daily Caller.

Pavlos-Hackney, who appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight on March 17, was arrested two days later before her release from jail on March 23.

Assistant Attorney General Eileen Whipple allegedly notified Nessel and other staffers about Pavlos-Hackney’s appearance, to which Nessel asked “should I be prepared to respond to this?” according to the report.

“I hope she gets the full 93 days for this. (Is that the max for civil contempt or just criminal contempt?)” Nessel’s email continued, according to the Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Nessel also reportedly asked whether state police had plans to find her soon or “wait until next week,” while Whipple said she would alert police to “this new information.”

Spokeswoman for Nessel’s office, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, said Pavlos-Hackney “willfully violated the state’s food laws, public health orders and orders of the court – a dangerous act that may have exposed dozens of diners and employees to the virus following the discovery that one of Marlena’s customers tested positive for the virus within two days of eating there,” according to the report.

“Ms. Pavlos-Hackney’s decision to then go on national television and flaunt her noncompliance compromised the state’s ability to protect public safety during a global pandemic and likely emboldened others to break the law.” (RELATED: Café Rosetta Defies Michigan’s Coronavirus Lockdowns In A Battle To Stay In Business)

The debacle began after the state banned indoor dining mid-November amid a spike in coronavirus cases. Pavlos-Hackney, who escaped communist Poland, kept her business open, and had her restaurant’s license suspended on Jan. 20.

State police issued a warrant for Pavlos-Hackney on March 11 and gave her until the 18th to turn herself in, which she failed to do. Pavlos-Hackney was taken into custody a day later without incident.

Pavlos-Hackney later put a sign on her door telling officials her business was “constitutionally compliant.”