Stylists stage Operation Haircut to protest Michigan's strict lockdown orders

Photo by Elaine Cromie/Getty Images(MICHIGAN) — The growing protest against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s strict COVID-19 lockdown orders got downright snippy Wednesday, when dozens of stylists showed up to the state capital to perform al fresco cuts as an act of civil disobedience that’s been dubbed Operation Haircut.

Over the past month, thousands of Michiganders have rallied against Whitmer’s prohibitions, which prevent citizens from visiting their vacation homes, and prohibit people from buying supplies like house paint and seeds for their gardens. 

Barbers and other stylists plied their trade for free for fellow protestors who sat in folding chairs, reports ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV. Footage shows State Troopers warning — and eventually issuing — a ticket to one of the stylists, a woman named Angela.

“This governor is drunk on power,” she said. “We have a right to make a living.” 

The crowded protest was organized to support Karl Manke, a barber in Owosso, MI who defied Whitmer’s orders and continued to serve his clients — while wearing a mask.

In response to his flouting of the lockdown order, Whitmer pulled Manke’s license to operate his shop.