A group of Maine legislators sent a letter Monday to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, requesting an investigation into Gov. Janet Mills (D) as a result of her numerous executive orders regarding the coronavirus crisis in which, they say, she “has exceeded her executive authority.”
In the letter made available to Breitbart News, the lawmakers, all Republicans, led by Maine Rep. John DeVeau, expressed gratitude to Barr for his memorandum to the Department of Justice in April, in which he directed all U.S. attorneys to be watchful of coronavirus restrictions that could violate Americans’ constitutional rights.
The legislators wrote:
We fully recognize the many unknowns that existed just over a month ago and the need for reasonable executive action in the face of a potentially devastating public health emergency. However, we are deeply concerned that Governor Mills has exceeded her executive authority in violation of both the Maine and United States Constitutions and continues to implement similar policies without authority or justifiable cause.
Among the specific concerns the lawmakers cite are Mills’ “arbitrary distinction between ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ businesses; denial of Maine citizens’ “right to assemble” in churches with gatherings of more than ten people; and her executive order “establishing quarantine restrictions on travelers arriving in Maine.”
In a statement sent to Breitbart News, Maine Rep. Larry Lockman, one of the letter’s signers, said since Mills declared a state of emergency in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, “she has been ruthless in the exercise of her dictatorial powers to close down private businesses and place Mainers under house arrest.”
“She ordered churches, restaurants, motels, state parks, and campgrounds to close their doors as ‘non-essential’ enterprises, while allowing abortion clinics and ice cream parlors to carry on business as usual,” Lockman continued. “Mom-and-pop retailers have been shut down, but the big box stores never missed a beat.”
The lawmaker continued that many Mainers have suffered due to Mills’ order prohibiting “non-emergency” medical care, including “everything from cancer to cataracts to drug and alcohol addiction.”
“Before it’s over, the lockdown will kill more Mainers than the virus, in addition to killing tens of thousands of jobs and small businesses,” Lockman said.
“And for what?” he asked. “On a typical day, no more than three dozen COVID-19 patients are hospitalized statewide, in a state of 1.3 million people.”
Lockman said it was time to “restore constitutional government in Maine.”
“If that means Bill Barr will have to drag Jackboot Janet into federal court, let’s get on with it,” he asserted.
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