Lisa Hanson, a former wine and coffee bistro owner thrown into jail for violating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s lockdown orders, told Fox News Digital that the now Democratic vice presidential candidate essentially “shut down and destroyed” her small business, warning Americans, “You do not want tyranny at this level.”
A mother of eight children and soon to be 18 grandchildren, Hanson said besides a speeding ticket she received as a teenager, she had always been a law-abiding citizen and owned businesses with her husband for more than 30 years. At the time the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing in 2020, Hanson said The Interchange Wine & Coffee Bistro in Albert Lea, about 90 miles south of Minneapolis, had been open for eight years.
Her wine and coffee bistro initially complied with the shutdown ordered that March. However, Hanson said she watched for months afterward as Walz never fully re-opened the state when it came to businesses deemed non-essential, such as the bars, restaurants, gyms, dance studios and hair salons. By contrast, the governor never shut down liquor stores, the “big box stores” or even strip clubs.
“He shut down a lot of the mom-and-pop shops, those folks that were just trying to make a living and provide a great product and a great service,” Hanson told Fox News Digital. “In contrast, he allowed big box stores, etc. to stay open. Really incredible, an incredible use of tyranny against the people.”
Hanson eventually decided to re-open her business and defied Walz’s renewed shutdown order for bars and restaurants six times between December 2020 and January 2021.
She was convicted in December 2021 on misdemeanor charges and received the maximum sentence of 90 days and a $1,000 fine. Hanson ended up serving just 60 days.
“This is the story that America needs to hear, that Tim Walz is not some cuddly, joyful coach, like all the things that the MSMs are calling him,” Hanson told Fox News Digital. “That is not who this man is. This man would like to take your rights away. He will take your rights away. Because what happened to me could have happened to anybody. What happened to me will happen to you.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event on Aug. 7, 2024 in Detroit. Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz are campaigning across the country this week. (Andrew Harnik)
“My family has paid a dear price. While I was in jail, I missed out on Christmas with my family, I missed out on my wedding anniversary, and I also missed out on the birth of one of my grandchildren,” Hanson said. “I can never have that time back. That time was stolen from me. My business was destroyed. My business is gone. After everything that happened, Tim Walz and Keith Ellison destroyed my business. They wrecked my life.”
“I’ve heard some people say that Tim Walz is a real nice guy. Yeah, well he’s not. Take my word for it,” Hanson said. “Through this whole process, I’ve gotten to know other people. Similar things have happened to them when they were trying to run their business and survive. Mostly women, by the way. So Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison really like to go after women. They’re bullies.”
“They’re bullies. And they like to go after women and torment and destroy women’s lives. This is what they have done in the state of Minnesota. So let America know you do not want Tim Walz as vice president. You do not want tyranny at this level,” she continued. “I have seen firsthand. We, the people of Minnesota, have seen what Tim Walz, the type of evil he orchestrates if he is elected as vice president of this country. He, in lockstep with Harris, who is also evil, will perpetuate this same type of evil on the American people. We do not want that. So this is the truth about Tim Walz.”
“I would like to see Tim Walz impeached. I would like to see him prosecuted for the crimes he has committed against the people of Minnesota,” Hanson said.
When Walz issued a November 2020 executive order that again shuttered dine-in services 100% for both indoor and outdoor bars and restaurants in the state, Hanson said she joined a group of nearly 200 fellow business owners called “Open Minnesota,” believing the governor, supported by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, was operating “in a rogue fashion outside the law.”
“We had God-given, constitutionally protected rights to be open. There was no statute. There was no law that allowed Gov. Walz to do what he did. He really did step outside of statutory law. But even more important, constitutional law,” Hanson said. “Because we have that right to be able to run our businesses and conduct our lives as we see fit, of course, staying within the rule of law.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during a campaign rally at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, 2024. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)
“We have a corrupt government that’s coming against us and saying, ‘you do not have the right to run your business,'” she said. “That is not a republic. That is not how a republic acts. It’s a dictatorship.”
Hanson described to Fox News Digital the moment she learned Walz had been selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
“Honestly, my feelings should not have been a surprise. But because of what I know about Tim Walz, because of the tyrant that I know he is. He’s wrecked so many lives in the state of Minnesota. He’s not done wrecking lives. He’s going to continue to wreck lives,” Hanson said. “I don’t use that word loosely, ‘evil.’ But the evil person that he is, it’s no wonder that the evil, Harris picked him to be her running mate,” Hanson said.
“Tim Walz has accomplished a lot of horrific things in the state of Minnesota in a very short amount of time,” she said.
Regarding the massive riots after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Hanson asked, “Where was our governor? Where was our governor when there was the looting and the burning down? A fellow business owner – their businesses being burned down. Where was our governor?”
“I have not been to Minneapolis since that took place,” Hanson told Fox News Digital. “I don’t need to go up there. I’ve seen what Tim Walz allowed to happen to Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Minnesota. That man is a wrecking machine. He needs to be stopped.”
Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith met with business owners whose businesses were looted and destroyed. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Within 24 to 48 hours of first reopening her wine and coffee bistro in December 2020, Hanson said “the state came down on us with a vengeance,” siccing the health department on her business and eventually bringing about a half dozen civil and criminal cases against her. During her trial, Hanson claimed she was denied due process and blamed “rogue judges,” the attorney general, and Walz for operating in “lockstep.”
“They employed all of their resources against We the People, just trying to run a company, serve a cup of coffee to a willing customer. And they said, ‘nope, you can’t do that,'” Hanson said. “And mind you, there was never an injury. There was never an infection of COVID-19, nor was there ever a death that occurred because I had my doors open and willing customers came in to patronize me.”
Incurring tens of thousands in legal fees and fines, Hanson said eventually her business was forced to close while under intense pressure from the government.
“What happened to me was no accident, and they absolutely wanted to make an example, right?” Hanson said. “It was like literally living a nightmare.”
Hanson, who voted for former President Trump in 2016 and 2020, said she is not convinced she will support the Republican nominee in the 2024 election, citing what she has learned about Operation Warp Speed and Trump taking credit for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Though she absolutely would not support the Harris-Walz ticket, Hanson argued against the two-party system of government altogether.
“Donald Trump is not going to save America. We certainly know Biden’s not going to save America, and Harris is not going to save America. The people need to get involved,” Hanson said.
Hanson, who briefly ran for state Senate unsuccessfully in 2022, encouraged citizens, parents especially, to get involved in school systems and local government.
“Electing Donald Trump is not, in my opinion, is not the way to go. For so many reasons,” Hanson said. “We need to change the two-party system. Otherwise, we’re just headed for some big words here: socialism, communism. And I know a whole lot of people that would say we’re already there, just not full-blown yet.”