by Eric Lendrum
A salon owner in Frisco, Texas has been arrested after defying the government shutdown to reopen her salon, according to the New York Times.
Shelley Luther, who owns the Salon A La Mode, reopened her business on April 24th, after it had been closed for an entire month. On the same day, police officers arrived at her business and handed her a citation, pressuring her to re-close the salon. She was subsequently sent a cease-and-desist letter by a judge in Dallas County; on April 25th, while appearing at a lockdown protest, Luther publicly tore up the cease-and-desist letter.
Luther was eventually forced to appear in court, with Judge Eric Moye of the 14th Civil District Court presiding. The case was heard via Zoom, with Judge Moye wearing a mask.
In a video that has since gone viral, Judge Moye asks Luther to apologize to her elected officials and acknowledge that she was wrong in order to avoid jail time, telling her that “failure to do so will only have catastrophic consequences.” Luther refused to do so, asserting that her decision to reopen her business, for the sake of “feeding [her] kids,” was not selfish. “If you think the law’s more important than kids getting fed,” Luther fired back, “then please go ahead with your decision. But I am not going to shut the salon.”
Moye subsequently declared Luther to be “criminally and civilly in contempt,” and was sentenced to a week in jail and a fine of $3,500.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
