Michigan residents will face jail time, $1,000 fine for traveling to second home under Whitmer order

Criminalizing travel to a family’s own property is one of the most extreme lockdown measures of any state in the country.

Michigan families must soon halt all travel between their residential properties under orders from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The last day residents can travel freely between their homes is April 10. “After that date, travel between two residences is not permitted,” Whitmer’s executive order reads.

Whitmer originally set violations of her order as a criminal misdemeanor, which carries penalties of up to a $500 fine and/or 90 days in jail. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services later issued a civil penalty of $1,000 for violating Whitmer’s order.

The new provision – which stands as one of the most extreme measures in the nation – was part of Whitmer’s extension of the general statewide stay-at-home order to April 30. Her order was previously set to expire April 13.

Another controversial provision of the new order bans the sale of certain goods from big box stores. Items such as gardening supplies, furniture and paint will be unavailable for shoppers.

Whitmer recently came under fire from former Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger for ignoring the state Legislature’s role in extending the governor’s emergency powers – instead choosing to pass sweeping new measures with the stroke of her pen.

The idea that the Legislature is unnecessary in a time of crisis “isn’t just shortsighted,” Bolger wrote in Crain’s Detroit Business, “it’s dangerous.”