A federal judge has ruled the lockdown orders issued by Democrat Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf are unconstitutional.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed in May by four Pennsylvania counties — Butler, Fayette, Greene and Washington — that argued against the state’s orders to close “non-life-sustaining” businesses and limit gatherings to 25 people indoors or 250 people outdoors.
Stickman opined “open-ended” measures imposed on people are an overreaching violation of constitutional rights.
“The court believes that defendants undertook their actions in a well-intentioned effort to protect Pennsylvanians from the virus,” the ruling said. “However, good intentions toward a laudable end are not alone enough to uphold governmental action against a constitutional challenge.”
President Trump quickly celebrated by retweeting posts on the issue:
#BREAKING Federal judge rules Gov. Tom Wolf's pandemic restrictions are unconstitutionalhttps://t.co/8QHzF3qCFf
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) September 14, 2020
"Governor Tom Wolf should not be allowed to defraud the people of the United States!" President Donald Trump tweeted his concerns about mail-in voting in Pennsylvania, sharing a story citing potential issues in the commonwealth. https://t.co/W1P4lNlKRW
— KDKA (@KDKA) September 13, 2020
BREAKING: A federal judge on Monday struck down Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic restrictions that required people to stay at home, placed size limits on gatherings and ordered “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down, calling them unconstitutional. https://t.co/sxdqroQLrk
— WNEP (@WNEP) September 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/JohnFavere/status/1304760557594185728
Fox News host Laura Ingraham also weighed in on the powerful condemnation of the lockdowns by Wolf.
“It was a phenomenal ruling,” Ingraham said. “We’ve been telling you this for months. Our constitutional rights may not be indefinitely abridged by executive fiat, period.”
On “The Ingraham Angle,” Ingraham said that in contrast to states like Pennsylvania, New York and California, states such as South Dakota have balked at forcing their economies to shut down, even partially.
“They have done that because the societal cost to daily life — to everything about the lives we lead — is just too high,” Ingraham said.
“First, lockdowns don’t work. Just look at the number of cases rising in Europe if you think they do work. Second, the damage that they cause is catastrophic to our economy, our children’s education … mental health and our safety.”
Ingraham also pointed out that Judge Stickman issued a “stinging” rebuke by ruling that a response to an emergency or a pandemic cannot undermine the system of checks and balances.
