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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently paid a visit to a veteran-owned restaurant in Washington, D.C., called The Big Board that has refused to enforce the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
"Anybody who wants to resist the man is somebody I want to meet," Paul told Fox News Digital of his Monday visit to the pub known for its hamburgers and draft beers.
D.C.'s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration [ABRA] suspended The Big Board's liquor license Friday after it determined the H Street restaurant had violated public health guidelines, such as enforcing masks for its employees and checking patrons' vaccine cards.
"So much of the authoritarianism that's coming out is so unfair to people, and there are rarely people who are willing to stand up. I mean … it's not a multimillion-dollar bar. They've been open for 10 years, so they make a living. But I would guess this is going to be severely damaging to their livelihood," Paul said.
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ABRA referred the case to the District’s Office of the Attorney General to draft a Summary Suspension Notice on Jan. 26, the local agency told Fox News Digital.
Once the notice was served, along with a copy of ABRA's investigative reporting, the "establishment cannot sell, serve, or allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages, nor can they purchase or take delivery of alcoholic beverages from wholesalers or manufacturers while the liquor license is suspended," ABRA said.
The licensee can request a hearing within three days of being served, and the ABC Board can hold a hearing within two days of "receipt of a timely request."
But Paul argues the mandate shouldn't exist in the first place since the omicron variant of COVID-19 has proven its ability to evade immunity offered by vaccines. While the vaccine prevents severe reactions to the virus – particularly in the elderly and those with underlying conditions – U.S. cases have spiked to record highs in recent weeks as the virus infects both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
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"I think it's horrendous," Paul told Fox News Digital. "[T]he government's supposed to be protecting you from thieves and murderers and robbers and rapists. It's not supposed to be trying to shut down legitimate businesses. And there's no science behind any of this. The vaccine is no longer preventing transmission. I think vaccines still a good idea for your personal health, depending on who you are, but how many vaccines you take, when you take them, whether you take them, I think, is private medical business."
The Kentucky senator added that Big Board's owner, Eric Flannery, "doesn't want to be the vaccine police."
The Big Board did not respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital, but Flannery — a military veteran — did recently tell Fox News' Laura Ingraham that the mandate on businesses "doesn't make any sense."
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"This has been a place where everybody's always been welcome," he said.
Paul said business owners in D.C. who can't afford to lose their licenses but are interested in supporting the same cause should either donate to a GoFundMe that has been created to help The Big Board or join lawsuits with other local businesses and restaurants.
Fox News' Angelica Stable and Paul Best contributed to this report.