Minnesota grandma slapped with 90-day jail sentence in 2021 over Covid violations says 'Tim Walz will take your rights away'

Former wine and coffee bistro owner Lisa Hanson was sentenced to jail for 90 days for violating Kamala Harris' vice-presidential pick Tim Walz’s Covid-19 lockdown orders in Minnesota in 2020. In a recent interview, Hanson told Fox News that Walz "shut down and destroyed" her small business in the state, and that Americans "do not want tyranny at this level." Hanson is the mother of eight children and 18 grandchildren. 

Hanson at one time owned The Interchange Wine & Coffee Bistro in Albert Lea, which is about 90 miles south of Minneapolis. Her small business had been open for eight years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. In March 2020, Hanson complied with the laws initially, but then saw that liquor stores, strip clubs, and big box stores all stayed open as they were deemed "essential."



"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. "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 reopen her business and defied Walz's shutdown orders multiple times between December 2020 and January 2021. In December 2021, she was convicted of misdemeanor charges and had to serve 90 days in jail as well as pay a $1,000 fine. She ended up serving 60 days in jail. 

"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 added. "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."

"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 stated. "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."