Count Meeteetse’s Elkhorn Bar & Grill as among those defying Gov. Mark Gordon’s 10 p.m. curfew for bars and restaurants.

Owners Magnum and Rachel Faust said Monday that they “will continue on as we always have,” because the state’s mandates are unnecessary and weren’t properly vetted.

“As free Americans we believe that we should be able to operate our business how, when and with whomever we see fit under the licenses that we hold,” the Fausts wrote in a statement they posted to Facebook. “These mandates have not been enforced on any of the corporate conglomerate businesses in our area, only on the small guys.”

Early Saturday morning, the Elkhorn Bar & Grill became the second Park County bar to publicly announce that it was not following the state’s public health orders for bars and restaurants; The Red Zone Sports Bar and Grill in Powell had announced Friday that it was staying open past 10 p.m., with owner James Andrews contending the establishment is a “travel center” and therefore exempt from the restrictions.

Both announcements were prompted by visits from local law enforcement: A Powell police officer had reminded The Red Zone of the mandated 10 p.m. closing time shortly after midnight on Friday morning, while a Park County Sheriff’s deputy visited the Elkhorn on Friday night.

In posts on Facebook, the Fausts said their establishment had been “violated” by the deputy, who “came in unmasked to enforce this beyond ridiculous mandate.”

“Our bartender was told to shut down at 11:30 by a deputy from our own town ... because Covid appears at 10:01 p.m.,” they sarcastically wrote. The couple said the deputy “threatened our bartender with filing a lawsuit with the district attorney. But Wal-mart can have an anxiety inducing amount of people...with people-counters at the door who are absolutely useless.”

“Bring it,” the Fausts wrote. “Here’s your ammo.”

Sheriff Scott Steward waded into the Facebook discussion, saying the owners, who were out of town and had gotten their account second-hand, should talk to Deputy Rob Cooke.

“We don’t file law suits and don’t have a district attorney and I am confident given my directives towards my deputies this didn’t go down as posted,” Steward wrote. “But this matter will be investigated.”

In a Tuesday interview, Steward said he didn’t have enough information to make a decision on what exactly happened at the Elkhorn, as he was waiting for a statement from the bartender and an official report from Cooke.

However, the sheriff said the deputy has disputed the bar’s description of his visit. Cooke told the sheriff that he asked the bartender if she knew about the health order and, when she said no, he asked her to have Magnum Faust call him to discuss the situation.

“That was pretty much it,” Steward said. “He [Cooke] said he never told them to close, never threatened them.”

Although violations of the state’s public health orders are technically punishable as misdemeanor crimes, the leaders of Park County’s law enforcement agencies have all pledged to focus on compliance and education, Steward noted, “and hopefully people do the right thing.”

“So, until I read my deputy’s official report and get that statement from the bartender, I mean, I have to believe that our deputy was doing what I asked — ask for voluntary compliance and education,” he said Tuesday.

The sheriff added that he has “so much mixed emotions” on the public health orders, which are intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. For example, Steward thinks that the authority given to health officers under current Wyoming law is “a little too broad” and should be revisited.

“What’s legal, what’s constitutional? It’s just, it’s tough,” he said of the mandates. “Everybody wants the same outcome; everybody just has a different outlook on it.”

In their Monday statement, the Fausts said they didn’t intend for their stand to come off as disrespectful or disobedient and that they “fully support and respect ALL law enforcement.”

“Our stance on the mandate has ZERO to do with bucking our local or county authorities, whatsoever,” the Elkhorn owners wrote. “We will always adhere to actual laws and operate under the constraints put on us by the business and/or liquor licenses that we apply and pay for.”

In explaining why she has ordered bars and restaurants to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist says they’re among the “high-risk environments” for spreading COVID-19 and  closing them helps reduce transmission. Closing establishments for part of the day should have at least a partial effect, she said.

Last week, Park County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin asked for local bars and restaurants to be allowed to stay open until midnight, but Harrist rejected the request, saying COVID-19 remains too prevalent in the county.