Attorney General Bill Barr said this week that the Department of Justice might side with citizens who sue state governments over coronavirus restrictions, suggesting that some of these policies may go too far.

Speaking on the Hugh Hewitt radio show about legal issues raised by state lockdown orders, Barr compared some of the polices to “house arrest” and said they could lead to situations in which the federal government would get involved.

“Our federal constitutional rights don’t go away in an emergency. They constrain what the government can do,” Barr told Hewitt. “And in a circumstance like this, they put on the government the burden to make sure that whatever burdens it’s putting on our constitutional liberties are strictly necessary to deal with the problem.

“They have to be targeted,” he continued. “They have to use less intrusive means if they are equally effective in dealing with the problem. And that’s the situation we’re in today. We’re moving into a period where we have to do a better job of targeting the measures we’re deploying to deal with this virus.”

The attorney general went on to say that the “idea that you have to stay in your house is disturbingly close to house arrest.” While he did not write off lockdown orders completely, he called them “impingements on liberty” that should make way to “more targeted approaches” as the infection curve begins to flatten.

Hewitt suggested that rather than merely protest, those who are dissatisfied with state violations of constitutional liberties should sue. Barr agreed and asserted that the Justice Department would closely examine such cases and potentially support the citizens in some of them.

Said Barr:

Well, if people bring those lawsuits, we’ll take a look at it at that time. And if we think it’s, you know, justified, we would take a position. That’s what we’re doing now. We, you know, we’re looking carefully at a number of these rules that are being put into place.

And if we think one goes too far, we initially try to jawbone the governors into rolling them back or adjusting them. And if they’re not and people bring lawsuits, we file [a] statement of interest and side with the plaintiffs.

Barr argued that beyond the violation of constitutional rights by state governments, the federal government could get involved on grounds of the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress the power to “regulate Commerce … among the several states.”

“So it is possible that governors will take measures that impair interstate commerce. And just where that line is drawn, you know, remains to be seen,” Barr told Hewitt, though he said he has not yet seen any violations of the Commerce Clause.

Barr’s comments earned him criticism from Democratic leaders, who, ironically, rebuked him for allegedly wanting to trample over the authority of states.

“So much for states’ rights. I mean I think they’ll be way off base. I think he will lose legally. And his view of an overarching almost monarchical president never ceases to amaze me,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she feels Barr is going “into a place that I think even the public knows doesn’t make sense.”

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a heated struggle between governments and liberty-minded patriots, who are concerned with government overreach.

In addition to forcing businesses to shut down and obligating citizens to stay in their homes, some states and localities have enforced their lockdowns with Chinese-manufactured drones and cellphone data-tracking technology. The outbreak has also been used as an argument by those who wish to impose universal compulsory vaccines and mandatory medical ID cards.

Even as the freedom of law-abiding Americans is restricted and mothers are being arrested for playing in the park with their young children, a number of governments have responded to the pandemic by releasing criminals onto the streets, some of whom have gone on to commit new crimes.

As a result, protests have sprung up around the country. A group calling for the reopening of Virginia spoke of the economic toll shutdowns are taking on citizens’ livelihoods. “Business owners are being forced to layoff employees while the unemployment system is failing those laid off as the economy free falls” the group wrote in a statement.

Recently, a New Jersey woman who organized a protest was arrested. But President Trump has expressed sympathy for lockdown protesters.

If push comes to shove, can patriots count on having a legal ally in the White House?

Photo: AP Images

Luis Miguel is a marketer and writer whose journalistic endeavors shed light on the Deep State, the immigration crisis, and the enemies of freedom. Follow his exploits on Facebook, Twitter, Bitchute, and at luisantoniomiguel.com.