On March 16, The Daily Wire reported that “A restaurant in California is resuming business by using a generator after a Los Angeles County judge ruled the city government could cut off their power for defying a public health order by remaining open.”
“This morning due to Barfly Inc., Tin Horn Flats, continuing to remain open in defiance of the Temporary Restraining Order issued on March 8, 2021, the Los Angeles Superior Court authorized the City of Burbank to disconnect the electricity to Tin Horn Flats’ property after giving 24-hours’ notice. The court did not provide permission to padlock the doors at this time but continues to reserve such a remedy as a last resort,” the city said in a statement on March 12.
Speaking on social media, the establishment quoted President Thomas Jefferson in an Instagram post “hours before the judge’s ruling.”
“I simply will NEVER comply,” they appended to Jefferson’s quote. “Not for any reason and not from any advice from anyone. I choose to disobey rules that have zero science behind them and rules that directly threaten my livelihood needlessly. These people implementing and following these rules do NOT represent my values nor my beliefs. I will go down with my ship if need be,” the caption of the post said.
As referenced by the original Daily Wire report, “the city of Burbank has been going after Tin Horn Flats for months after bureaucrats realized the restaurant was allegedly not abiding by the city’s COVID-19 mandates last December.”
During a “special meeting” held by the Burbank City Council on February 22, the hyperbolic nature of these efforts were put on full display when Council Member Konstantine Anthony rejected Tin Horn Flats’ argument by comparing them to Rosa Parks, saying that “Rosa Parks actually had to sit in jail after she was taken off the bus.”
“The idea that the health of this and the science is debatable, and simply because there’s a debate we can throw out all of these orders, that is ludicrous. That is not the way you run society, or government. You do the best you can, you get the smartest people in the room, you take a democratic vote and you pass laws and ordinances,” Anthony said soon after the 4:16:00 mark in the recording of the meeting.
“And if they’re wrong, they get changed, and if they’re unconstitutional they get thrown out in court. But you take them as they come, and you follow the law as it is.”
“You know, Rosa Parks actually had to sit in jail after she was taken off the bus. She did her time!” he said, after a brief pause. He then appeared to immediately undermine his own argument.
“I mean, granted she changed the law. The courts came down and ruled in her favor, but she still had to pay the penance by violating a lawful order, at the time. It was a lawful order at the time. So we have to look at the time and the dates that we have before us. The violations were done at the time when there was a lawful order in place. Not before, not after, but during. If it changes down the line, that’s a different conversation.”
As The Daily Wire reported last week, “Restaurant co-owner Lucas Lepejian told a local outlet that he was unafraid of city officials because his business was operating safely.”
“They’re coming after us for having 10, 15 people in a small environment. It absolutely makes no sense and [is] completely unconstitutional,” Lepejian said. “I’ve got nothing left to lose,” Lepejian added. “I’m opposing tyranny. … I’m doing COVID-19 safety protocols.”
