Police Shut Down Hobby Lobby Despite Message From God To Stay Open During Coronavirus Pandemic

After making a decision to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic, one Hobby Lobby location was reportedly shut down by police on Monday. The news comes after the founder of the arts and craft retailer said a message from God was sent to his wife, telling the company to remain open.

The West Allis, Wisconsin, police department contacted the Hobby Lobby location around 11 a.m. on Monday, after finding the store was still open amid a state safer-at-home order that required non-essential businesses to shut down, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

According to West Allis Deputy Police Chief Christopher Botsch, “We took this as an opportunity to educate the business on the specifics of the governor’s order. The business was cooperative and closed without incident.”

Last week, Hobby Lobby founder David Green had circulated a memo to employees that said his wife Barbara received a message from God during her “quiet prayer time” that said, “Guide. Guard, and Groom.”

Green said in the memo that the message meant that “We serve a God who will Guide us through this storm, who will Guard us as we travel to places never seen before, and who, as a result of this experience, will Groom us to be better than we could have ever thought possible before now.”

Hobby Lobby did post a message to its customers about the coronavirus on its website, saying that it was taking measures to keep consumers and its employees safe. Hobby Lobby said it was still receiving online orders but said some delays may occur due to high volume.

It was unclear at the time of writing how many other Hobby Lobby stores were still operating during stay-at-home orders in other states.

The safer-at-home order from Gov. Tony Evers went into effect in in Wisconsin on March 25, allowing only essential businesses to stay open, including grocery stores, banks, health care providers, pharmacies, gas stations, and hardware stores.