Politics

AG Barr: Besides Slavery, National Coronavirus Lockdown Is The ‘Greatest Intrusion On Civil Liberties’

William Barr speaks at Hillsdale College event. Screenshot/CBS

Screenshot/CBS

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Attorney General William Barr claimed that, “other than slavery,” calls for a national lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic were “the greatest intrusion on civil liberties.”

Barr spoke Wednesday as part of a Hillsdale College event recognizing Constitution Day, making several comments about the constitutional implications of coronavirus-related lockdowns. (RELATED: ‘Let Me Talk’: William Barr Lashes Out At Wolf Blitzer In Testy Exchange Over Mail-In Voting)

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“You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest,” Barr explained. “Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history.”

Barr also accused state and local leaders, many of whom had imposed such lockdowns, of treating their citizens like children who were incapable of making informed decisions for themselves.

“Most of the governors do what bureaucrats always do, which is they … defy common sense. They treat free citizens as babies that can’t take responsibility for themselves and others,” Barr continued, adding, “We have to give business people an opportunity, tell them what the rules are … and then let them try to adapt their business to that and you’ll have ingenuity and people will at least have the freedom to try to earn a living.”

Barr also raised eyebrows with several other comments from that same event, criticizing prosecutors for “political headhunting” and arguing that protesters used Black Americans shot by police as props to push an agenda.

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