May 14, 2020 03:37 PM UTC

GarCo Sheriff Refuses To Shut Down "Yosemite Samantha"

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

We wrote yesterday about the reopening of the Shooters Gill in Rifle by owner and Republican CD-3 congressional challenger Lauren Boebert, vowing “I’m not going to let the government tell me what to do” and resuming her lunch service of chicken tenders with a side of armed wait staff. KJCT-TV Grand Junction reports that Boebert has been served with a restraining order sought by Garfield County Public Health Department authorities in response to news reports, but you can still show up for sit-down service:

After receiving a cease and desist order Tuesday, and then getting a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, Shooters Grill owner Lauren Boebert decided to open up her restaurant again on Thursday morning- this time on the street…

“I’ve been patient, followed all of the proper channels, and provided services in a safe and responsible manner using the same guidelines as neighboring Mesa County restaurants,” says Boebert. “Yesterday, Governor Polis bragged to President Trump about Colorado opening, but the reality is that small business owners like me who don’t have Washington DC lobbyists are getting crushed and being treated like criminals while big box stores are open for business.”

According to Garfield County officials, Boebert continued to operate Tuesday night. She was open again Wednesday night, which is when Boebert was served with a temporary restraining order.

But in a Facebook post today, Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario, one of the state’s aspiring to tabloid glory politician-sheriffs and an early endorser of Boebert’s primary campaign against incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton, made it clear that “Yosemite Samantha” has little to worry about:

I was the first Sheriff she asked for an endorsement of her campaign for Congress and without hesitation I gladly did, knowing I was bucking the mainstream party. As far as I know, I am the only Sheriff pictured in her campaign material. I admire her strength, her tenacity and her courage. She challenged Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and told him that he was not taking her guns! I didn’t do that and neither did any of you. I like her moxie and think we need more of that in Congress. I support her willingness to challenge the illegal and unconstitutional directives we are all facing during this Covid-19 issue. She and I have spoken about the possible consequences and she’s willing to fight for her rights.

But, despite all of that, some have accused me of ignoring my responsibility to the Constitution. So, let me make this clear: I am a firm believer in our system of three co-equal branches of government and due process. These edicts issued by governors and health departments, in my opinion, violate those basic principals of our rule of law and violate our Constitution. [Pols emphasis] Many constitutional lawyers agree, as did the Wisconsin Supreme Court who recently ruled their Governor’s “Safer at home” orders UNLAWFUL!

I will not arrest anyone who violates these health orders, because the rule of law and due process are absent…

Once again, a life-or-death question of enforcing the law comes down to one sheriff’s discretion. And much like the refusal of some Colorado sheriffs to enforce the state’s new “red flag” law, this arbitrary disregard for state law could very well have deadly consequences.

Like we said yesterday, other than the likelihood of spreading pandemic disease among the Shooters Grill’s freedom-loving patrons, this little grandstand is nothing but positive in terms of Boebert’s primary bid to unseat Scott Tipton. Even though the public overwhelmingly condemns these kinds of antics in defiance of public health orders, Republican primary voters are the one segment of the electorate to whom this is heroism instead of rank stupidity. Not even the praise President Donald Trump had for Gov. Jared Polis yesterday will trouble the people Boebert wants to turn out to vote with this stunt, because in the end the “COVID resistance movement” is not about reality. It’s about finding somebody to blame for events that surpass their own comprehension.

So if you’re looking for a little adventure with your tenders, head on over to Lauren Boebert’s “COVID Cafe!” The local sheriff isn’t going to stop you because freedom, and the only people whose lives you’re risking are your own–and everyone you come in contact with. And everyone they come in contact with. And so forth.