LANSING — An Owosso barber who reopened his shop and refused to close despite state shutdown orders has temporarily lost his license.
The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs summarily suspended Karl Manke's barber license, Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Manke, who owns Karl Manke's Barber & Beauty shop in Owosso, had not been formally served with the notice of suspension as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, but he and his attorney were notified, Nessel said.
"Until they serve him, he can continue to cut hair," said David Kallman, an attorney who anticipates representing Manke in future legal proceedings.
The attorney general's office asked a Shiawassee County judge to sign a temporary restraining order against Manke on Friday, but Judge Matthew Stewart did not authorize it. He argued that the attorney general's office had not shown that "irreparable injury" would result from waiting to give Manke a chance to defend himself in court.
Although Nessel's office said Manke was an immediate threat to the public, Stewart said they had not filed the temporary restraining order until he had been open for five days. Manke first reopened May 4.
The state's decision to summarily suspend Manke's license was simply their way of acting when Stewart wouldn't, Kallman said.
"I think it’s totally vindictive," he said. "It’s petty, it’s totally in retribution because they didn’t like the court order from earlier this week.
"It’s an abuse of power."
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Manke, 77, told the State Journal he was struggling with money and had no choice but to reopen.
The shutdown "collapsed me, mentally, physically and spiritually," Manke said. "I was in despair. I had to go back to work...I don't have anybody paying me unless I'm doing work."
Manke also faces two misdemeanor charges for reopening his shop despite state shutdown orders. He is charged with a health department violation and with violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order, according to Shiawassee County District Court records.
He faces a more than $1,000 fine and is set to be arraigned on June 23, court records show.
The state also issued a cease and desist order on Friday, but that isn’t enforceable, according to Kallman.
A complaint should have been filed first, rather than moving to suspend his license, Kallman said. A complaint would allow for a trial and witnesses, he said, which would allow for all relevant voices to be heard, he said. Manke has yet to appear in court.
Nessel commended LARA's actions to suspend Manke's license Wednesday, saying it was "absolutely the right move."
"I 100% support them," Nessel said. "I really hope people will look a little deeper and understand the state's motivation when it comes to this particular issue."
Closing down barber shops is not why she ran to be attorney general, Nessel said, but during a global pandemic that has killed thousands of Michiganders, it must be done.
She pointed to the actions of Manke and others in the barber shop. Some were wearing masks, but many others weren't.
When Manke is within inches of someone who is not wearing a mask — even if he's wearing one himself — it wouldn't be a stretch to believe he could become infected with COVID-19 and spread it the people who came to him for haircuts, Nessel said.
"This is a serious health concern. All we want to do is protect people's lives," Nessel said. "That's our only motivation behind wanting to shut down Mr. Manke's business."
LARA's suspension will not permanently take away Manke's license but will restrain him until the state can make sure his behavior and practices are not a harm to the public, Nessel said.
Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.
Mark Johnson contributed to this report.
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