Business Owner Denied COVID-19 Funds Because He Attended Protest

RACINE, WI — On April 24, Racine business owner Denis Navratil traveled to Madison to protest Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers' "Safer at Home" order, which set limits on social and business interactions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin.

Little did he know, his attendance at the protest — and resulting media coverage — would end up costing him emergency grant money that would support his business while it was shut down earlier this year during the earlier stages of the state's pandemic response.

He now says he's being denied his First Amendment rights by the mayor. The mayor issued a response, saying Navratil's attendance at the protest violated the state's "Safer at Home" order.

"I never anticipated anything happening that could make my sales drop 100 percent overnight," Navratil said in speaking April 24 in Madison to a WTMJ reporter. "A Walmart can be open, a liquor store can be open, but a small business that might serve one or two people at a time while maintaining social distancing can't be open."

At the time, "Safer at Home" restricted nonessential travel and set public gathering limits — neither of which were followed at the Madison rally. "Safer at Home" has since been overruled as unconstitutional by the Wisconsin Supreme Court after a back-and-forth battle with the governor's office and the state Legislature.

According to a Journal Times report, Navratil, who co-owns Dimple's Fine Imports, 416 Main St., applied twice for Racine Small Business Emergency Assistance Funding, and was denied each time. His business wasn't the only one that was denied funding.

Racine Mayor Cory Mason issued a public statement on the matter this past weekend, first framing the question he and fellow city officials received over the funding:

"The owners of Dimple's have approached us and have said that when questioning the mayor, he told them that they didn't get the grant because Denis Navratil went to a protest in Madison in April over the Safer at Home order. Is that the case?"

In his public response, Mason confirmed that Navratil's attendance at a Madison protest was a contributing factor in denying the business emergency funding.

“As Mayor, it is my duty to protect the public health of our City's residents. While I certainly support the rights of free speech and assembly, I cannot in good conscious send scarce City resources to a person or business that willingly jeopardized public health, especially when they were competing with other businesses who were not flagrantly violating safety measures," the mayor said. "If an applicant was openly violating the statewide 'Safer at Home' order and the public health emergency under which the City was operating to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus, that applicant would compete less favorably. For instance, participating in mass gatherings outside of our community, such as the rally that was held at the State Capitol – such large gatherings have been linked to cases of COVID-19 around the state - and then returning to our City, only served to put our residents at unnecessary risk and, thus, factored into the funding consideration. When it comes to disbursing discretionary funds aimed at helping businesses who were sacrificing to protect public health, the City is not going to reward business owners who took reckless behaviors that risked the health of our community.”