Newly-selected Democrat vice presidential pick Governor Tim Walz (MN) created a COVID-19 hotline for neighbors to snitch on mandate violators.
“Tim Walz set up a snitch line for people who were violating Covid rules,” Richard Hanania, President of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, wrote on X. “Thousands of complaints came in as people reported their neighbors for things like going to church, hosting a birthday party, buying nonessential items from stores, and not enforcing mask mandates.”
Hanania referred to an article published in 2022 by Alpha News, which explained that the hotline was used for file reports on neighbors playing basketball, walking their dogs, and having small gatherings.
An estimated 10,000 COVID-related reports were collected on the hotline, according to Kevin Gutknecht of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS). Despite the large number of reports, Gutknecht said many of the emails may be spam.
One complaint filed on the hotline criticized people for gathering in a park. “I have a real problem with this and they are inviting more people to join,” the individual said.
Another person complained that “too many people” were in a Walgreens, while others criticized people who left cities to go to their cabins.
During his campaign rally with Vice President Kamala Harris, Walz said, “Some of us are old enough to remember when it was Republicans who were talking about freedom. It turns out now what they meant was the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office.”
Co-founder of parental rights group Moms for Liberty, Tiffany Justice, condemned Walz’s statement, saying, “He should take some of his own advice, because during COVID not only did he lock down schools and mask children, he encouraged neighbors to snitch on each other if they were taking their kid to the playground.”
