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The circus returned to Owosso on Monday and now moves to Lansing for an "Operation Haircut" event inspired by the saga of renegade cutter Karl Manke.
Act I played out on a rainy afternoon as three other rebels visited the defiant mid-Michigan barber to horn in on his media magnetism. Manke was joined by a pair of Michigan business owners who've also reopened prematurely and by a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for breaking her state's health-safety order to stay shut.
Karl Manke: "All of you -- open up your shops." (Photo: Facebook/James David Gray)
The feisty barber has stopped snipping because the state suspended his license last Thursday for reopening May 4 during the shutdown of nonessential businesses. But Manke, 77, still sounds like a firebrand in Detroit News coverage of his latest media op:
"Michigan — all of you business owners, you beauticians, you barbers, you massage therapists, all of you — open up your shops, stand up and show up."
That kind of talk could get a person invited to a Shiawassee County Republican Party banquet, whenever such an event is allowed.
It also makes him a folk hero to some, generating more than $68,000 on GoFundMe from over 1,900 donors to a legal defense campaign.
At a downtown Grand Rapids rally Monday, Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf called Manke "a little version of Rosa Parks." All that's missing is a "Barber of Owosso" ballad set to the tune of "I Won't Back Down."
The self-styled martyr forced to lay down his shears will be celebrated Wednesday as the Michigan Conservative Coalition makes a political point with clippers and scissors. Stylists and barbers will offer free cuts from noon to 3 p.m. on the Capitol lawn.
"The dictator-in-chief in Lansing has and continues to run roughshod over your constitutional rights," claims the group's event listing, which says Manke's treatment "sounds like a police state."
Slide for Wednesday's event.
(Graphic: Michigan Conservative Coalition)
"This is about our governor overreaching," says coalition member Meshawn Maddock of Milford, quoted by Fox 2 News (video below).
"It feels tyrannical what we are living under, here in Michigan right now. ... There is no reason why barbers and stylists can't safely cut hair. ...
"A 77-year-old barber became a leader in our state [as] the first person brave enough to risk his license, to stand up to our governor. We are proud of him and we were impressed by him. And immediately other hair stylists and barbers reached out to us and said what can I do?"
Free dog grooming and massages also are expected to be available at the three-hour circus event, Maddock said.
Her coalition's site advises participants: "Keep your signage respectful and on topic: Open the State. Leave your Confederate (or other toxic flags) and guns at home. These do not help to reopen the state and only give the media something—other than real issues—to talk about."
(Photo: WLNS)
Back in Shiawassee, lawyers for Manke filed a county court motion Monday to seek a stay of the state's license suspension. "They just want to destroy this guy," attorney David Kallman tells The News. "They are angry. They are vindictive. This is an abuse of power beyond the pale."
A state Court of Appeals panel ruled Monday that a judge should hold a hearing on the state’s motion to temporarily close the barber shop and decide on the request by the end of Thursday.
Conservative Coalition interview
