Attorney General William Barr seems to think public health precautions are akin to one of the greatest mass atrocities America has ever committed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states and cities implemented stay-at-home orders requiring people to remain inside except for work and other essential activities. Studies showed those orders prevented explosions of COVID-19 cases and likely saved thousands of lives, but to Barr, they verged on unconstitutional.
During a Wednesday talk at Hillsdale College's "Constitution Day" celebration, Barr posited that "putting a national lockdown, stay-at-home orders, [are] like house arrest." "Other than slavery ... this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history," Barr continued.
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Barr's comments drew a ton of criticism, including from short-lived White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, who called it another example of how Barr has continually toyed with "radical right-wing nonsense" under President Trump. Kathryn Krawczyk
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