GOP leader punished for refusing COVID mask: ‘If they can do this to me, they can do it to you’

Former Island County Republican Party Chair Tim Hazelo avoided jail time but is fighting back after being convicted of trespassing for refusing to wear a mask while observing ballot counting at the county elections office in 2024. Hazelo, who joined The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM, called the case a clear attempt to intimidate conservatives into silence.

The dispute began when Island County Auditor Sheila Crider imposed a last-minute mask mandate at the election office, citing a COVID scare among staff. Hazelo, serving as an election observer, declined to wear a mask—pointing out that even county staff had been seen violating the rule. Far-left Island County Prosecutor Attorney Greg Banks charged him with misdemeanor criminal trespass, and a jury later found him guilty.

Hazelo avoided jail but was ordered to perform 40 hours of community service, provide a DNA sample, and pay restitution. He’s now appealing the conviction on both civil and criminal grounds.

“[Crider] didn’t have the authority, she didn’t have a reason, and she didn’t do it properly,” Hazelo argued. “On all three counts, the mask mandate fails. But the liberal court system wanted to make an example of me.”

The Radical Left using courts to target conservatives

The conviction has already cost Hazelo professionally. His employer, a government contractor, failed to report the case, leading federal officials to suspend his security clearance and block him from his job. “The process is the punishment,” he said. “They know that by dragging this out, they can damage my livelihood.”

Hazelo emphasized that his defiance was peaceful, yet he was treated worse than violent Antifa thugs.

“If a guy like me can get charged with this and be convicted and then have to pay a penance for it, imagine what they can do to anybody. Right? Everybody’s a possible target of these far left prosecutors and rules.”

This had nothing to do with public safety

Hazelo also rejected the notion that this was about public safety. It was 2024 and COVID was not a threat. He didn’t even have COVID, making it impossible for him to spread it to Crider’s staff.

“They convict guys like me for these peaceful things, and let people let Antifa fire bomb police stations in Seattle. So I’m happy to not be in jail. But the reality is, we’re going to continue to fight. We’re appealing the entire thing on the civil side and criminal side, including the conviction,” Hazelo explained.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Seattle Red on 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.