'COVID Ambassador' cannot fine businesses

PULLMAN – The “COVID Ambassador” Michael Donnenwerth took it upon himself to threaten businesses in Pullman with fines for “violating” state COVID-19 proclamation restrictions.

“We tracked down the person in question and it appears the person attended some type of COVID-19 informational meeting and may have misconstrued some of the information presented about how to report violations,” said Pullman police Chief Gary Jenkins.

The man identified himself as Michael Donnenwerth to police, but they couldn’t find his authority to act as a representative of Whitman County or the state.

“The only entities with authority to take any action with a business, about proclamation violations in Pullman, are Pullman (police) and the state regulatory agency that regulates the specific business,” said Jenkins.

Whitman County officials told police Donnenwerth does not represent the county and they have “no knowledge of this person.” The county would not be contacting any business about COVID proclamation violations, Jenkins said.