Exclusive Photo: Gretchen Whitmer Violates Own Coronavirus Orders at Dive Bar

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) hit the bar this weekend and violated her own coronavirus orders, according to a photo Breitbart News has exclusively obtained.

Whitmer and a large group of friends, including her appointed chief operations officer, Tricia Foster, visited the Landshark in East Lansing, violating her restaurant orders in the process, according to a photo one of the attendees posted on Facebook.

The photo, posted Saturday, was part of a montage. Shortly after, Whitmer’s friend deleted the collage and reposted it sans the governor and one of her top aides:

The group shot of 13 individuals appeared to violate the governor’s restaurant capacity order issued May 15 on “gathering limitations for entertainment establishments, recreational establishments, and food service establishments”:

b. Gatherings are prohibited at food service establishments, whether indoor or outdoor, unless:

1. Consumption of food or beverages is permitted only in a designated dining area where patrons are seated, groups of patrons are separated by at least 6 feet, no more than 6 patrons are seated together (at a table, booth, or group of fixed seats), and groups of patrons do not intermingle

While Whitmer’s group did not wear masks, a bouncer at the Landshark — a dive bar in the college town — could be seen with his face covered.

“Last week Whitmer refused to immediately end her ridiculous restrictions, like a maximum of 6 patrons per table for indoor dining,” Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Freedom Fund, told Breitbart News.

“Now Whitmer has once again completely disregarded her own rules. Whitmer orders rules she and her staff don’t follow themselves while Michiganders and businesses suffer. Whitmer must end her restrictions immediately.”

Michigan Freedom Fund called on Whitmer to immediately lift all orders this week, a recommendation the governor ignored.

In April, Breitbart News caught Foster defying Whitmer’s demand to not travel to Florida for spring break. Foster posted photos of her trip with unvaccinated teens to the Keys and acknowledged she left one of her children at home “with covid [coronavirus].”

Other bars in East Lansing were targeted by the Ingham County Health Department and East Lansing Police Department in October after the allegedly violated Whitmer’s orders.

East Lansing Info reported:

Multiple sources have confirmed to ELi that Dublin Square, Lou & Harry’s, FieldHouse and The Tin Can Bar were believed to have violated related to state and county health orders.

The potential violations taken together included being over capacity, people not wearing masks or taking them off too much, people going from tables to the bar to order drinks, and too many people seated in one group, Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said.

Vail “found a place way over capacity,” she told ELi, although she declined to name any specific bars.

This week, Whitmer ditched her reopening plan that required vaccination benchmarks to be met in order to be lifted, and instead ordered certain restrictions to be eased June 1, and all orders to be removed July 1.

Despite Whitmer’s repeated complaints that she is facing death threats, no security personnel were apparent in the photo.

An email to Whitmer’s office seeking a response was not immediately returned.

Update at 4:06 P.M. EST:

REACTION: After a photo surfaced of @GovWhitmer at a table in an East Lansing bar with a dozen other people, seemingly against her own COVID orders, her press secretary released this statement from Whitmer:@9and10News pic.twitter.com/fePStJvfK8

— Eric Lloyd (@EricLloyd) May 23, 2021

Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays–download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.