Charges dropped against Pinellas game shop owner arrested for violating state and local lockdown orders

Floridapolitics.com ^ | 5/3/20 | Janelle Irwin Taylor

[cotton1706]

A Pinellas County business owner is off the hook after being arrested for failing to comply with the County’s stay-at-home order forcing all non-essential businesses to close.

Galen Trent Wood has operated Kitchen Table Games in Pinellas Park since 2014 and continued serving customers through curbside pick-up and online orders even after the county ordered businesses closed in early April in conjunction with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ statewide order.

Pinellas County Sheriff and deputies arrested Wood on April 16 after they said they issued several warnings about the business’ failure to comply with the local order.

snip

The law firm Wood retained to handle his case, Oldham & Delcamp Trial Attorneys, as well as Rep. Anthony Sabatini, celebrated the case dismissal.

“The State Attorney’s Office 6th Circuit just DROPPED their case against my client Galen Wood — the first Floridian to be arrested for opening a ‘non-essential’ business. It’s clear there is NO valid legal authority for either the state or local emergency orders,” Sabatini tweeted with the hashtags “liberty” and “COVID19.”

[cotton1706]

These "violations" of "orders" are getting into the courts. Expect oligarchic mayors and governors to crumble should this continue.

Mike DeWine of Ohio already blinked on his mask order.

[rktman]

“...state and local lockdown orders...” Certainly they mean REQUESTS. Not sure what the states “emergency powers act “ actually says.

[twister881]

Ruling Class tyrants have no concept of individual liberty or responsibility, and they hate the Constitution, despite having no clue what it says or means. Citizens are smart enough to maintain their distance and perform handwashing without the Deep State telling them to do so. Each person weighing the risks & benefits and making decisions that are best for them & their families. Open Up America!

[Maudeen]

People are trying to help a local restaurant stay afloat. Friends have been individually ordering, picking it up and going to the local park sitting on the benches 6 foot apart. The weather has been nice. . .we may continue after the orders have been lifted.

[vg0va3]

Pinellas County has a $2.5B budget for FY2020. How much will Galen Trent Wood receive of that amount? And what of the officers that executed the UNLAWFUL arrest?

[SaxxonWoods]

This guy should get huge business. This is the only way things will open, biz owners have to “resist” unconstitutional orders, heh.

[TStro]

I think every elected official, state, federal or local, should be stripped of their salaries so they share the pain of all the people who have been put out of work. Their salaries should go into the unemployment funds for those out of work. See how long this lasts. Plus the loss of pay should stick until every business is reopened. See how long the petty tyrants last.

[Truth29]

There are one or more cases like this in North Carolina with the defiant shop keeper being arrested and taken away. Hope good legal minds are looking into this situation as well. Demonstrations at the state capitol have, so far, not moved the governor to reopen sooner than he has planned.

[BigEdLB]

Never forget jury nullification

[TexasFreeper2009]

all these people geting fines and being arrested will beat the wrap, but they wont beat the ride.

I know, it bites, but if you honestly believe in something you have to be willing to pay a price.

[ransomnote]

• Support President Trump: Let Our State and Local Elected Officials Know We Object To Tyranny

  5/3/2020, 2:56:06 PM · by ransomnote

  05/03/2020 | vanity

[JudgemAll]

For all the occupational licensing organisations of the chamber of commerce pocketing money all those years, where are they to protect the businesses they pimp? All of them paid this racket licensing extortion and get no protection in return. The mafia would have solved that problem

[livius]

Great! Our governor is good but local governments - county or city, not so much. Second level of petty tyranny.

I bet the locals got a nudge from DeSantis, who met with barbers and salon owners today to talk about restoring those services. Probably because a lot of them were going to to do so anyway, and believe me, they’d have clients. Including me.

So I think maybe the working people and common sense will prevail.

[moviefan8]

I pray that my city, county, and state officials go to jail. It most likely not happen, but it would make me happy. :)

[lapsus calami]

 

 

Excellent question. The national organization is a lost cause, which I refer to as the Chamber of Communists. So, I took a look around the internet at Chambers in the 3 largest towns in my vicinity. The main websites for Killeen & Temple had no announcements, bulletins or anything splashed across their main pages - they looked the same as they did before all this started. Their social media was loaded with obedient "we're all in this together" claptrap. Worthless. The main website for the Belton chamber has a lot of announcements and resources to click on in regard to local businesses. Their social media was loaded with promos, statuses and announcements for local businesses. Belton Chamber for the win - though there wasn't any inkling of legal resource advocacy at least they showed a broad and aggressive amount of market advocacy that the others lacked.

 

 

[Svartalfiar]

I think every elected official, state, federal or local, should be stripped of their salaries so they share the pain of all the people who have been put out of work. Their salaries should go into the unemployment funds for those out of work. See how long this lasts. Plus the loss of pay should stick until every business is reopened. See how long the petty tyrants last.

Once the lack of sales taxes start hitting the States, they'll be hurting. Once income taxes (for States that have them) start not going in, they'll be hurting. When property taxes start dropping because property values drop due to no one being able to afford stuff, both business and residents, States'll be hurting even more. Not to mention cities and counties on all of this.

They'll have to start cutting back, and some cities might even have to dissolve. You can bet gov jobs will be at a premium in a year or so!