Wisconsin Police Shut Down Hobby Lobby Stores That Defied Coronavirus Lockdown
Blake Montgomery
Updated Apr. 01, 202
Several Milwaukee-area Hobby Lobby stores were shut down by police Tuesday after the craft store reopened earlier this week in defiance of state shelter-in-place orders, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Police in West Allis closed down one location on Monday and used it “as an opportunity to educate the business” on Gov. Tony Evers’ lockdown order, authorities said.
Despite the police visit, four more stores in the Milwaukee suburbs continued to operate into Tuesday and were subsequently shut down.
According to Business Insider, some of the chain’s locations in other states had also reopened, including 19 Ohio locations. It was not immediately clear if those stores were still operating as of Tuesday night.
The craft store at first maintained that its business was “essential” and therefore exempt from such lockdown orders but eventually gave in last week and switched off the lights.
The reasoning behind this week’s reopening is unclear. Hobby Lobby’s corporate leadership provided managers with talking points for dealing with the authorities should employees face questions about why the store is still running, according to Business Insider.
Read it at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
http://www.thedailybeast.com/hobby-lobby-stores-that-defied-coronavirus-lockdowns-shut-down-by-wisconsin-police?via=newsletter&source=CSAMedition
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