A Texas salon owner who defied the state's emergency order and became a hero of conservative lockdown opponents got a new client on Friday: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.
Cruz stopped for a trim at Shelly Luther's Salon A La Mode in Dallas on the first day salons could reopen in Texas, but his visit was primarily to support Luther, who spent a night in jail this week for continuing to operate her salon despite the state's emergency order until Texas' Republican governor intervened.
—NBC DFW (@NBCDFW) May 8, 2020"Just got my hair cut for first time in 3 months at Salon ALa Mode to support Shelley Luther, who was wrongly imprisoned when she refused to apologize for trying to earn a living," Cruz tweeted. "Glad Shelley is out of jail & her business is open!"Advertisement
The Shelley Luther case
On Wednesday, Luther was arrested and initially sentenced to seven days in jail after she reopened Salon A La Mode in Dallas on April 24, despite an order from the governor that such businesses remained closed until May 8.
Luther received a cease-and-desist letter last week from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, CBS DFW reported, but ripped it up in public. Crowds gathered outside the salon to support her while the business remained open.Luther was arrested for defying the order and was found guilty of civil and criminal contempt of court by Dallas Civil District Judge Eric Moyé, who had initially offered to give her a fine if she closed her business until May 8 and apologized for her "selfish" actions in keeping the salon open. She refused, saying, "I have to disagree with you sir, when you say that I'm selfish because feeding my kids is not selfish."
When Moyé then sentenced her to seven days in jail, Luther gained two very powerful supporters: Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, both Republicans.
She was released early on Thursday after Gov. Greg Abbott amended his executive order to remove jail time as a punishment for violation, and the Supreme Court of Texas ruled on her case.
In a tweet, Abbott called it "wrong" that businesses owners be put in jail, even though the order Abbott himself issued said failure to comply could result in an $1,000 fine, jail time for up to 180 days, or both. He amended the executive order to exclude jail time as a punishment.AdvertisementLuther has become a symbol of the opposition to stay-at-home orders
Nationwide, polling continues to show that a majority of Americans support the say-at-home and social distancing orders that are currently in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and that most Americans remain apprehensive about reopening businesses too quickly.
A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll of 1,005 adults found that Americans would still be wary of going to retail shops, restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters were they to open.AdvertisementOnly 31% of adults said they would be comfortable going to a barber shop or hair salon, the poll found, though there was a partisan split: 15% of Democrats and Democrat-leaning adults would be comfortable going, while 48% of Republican and Republican-leaning adults would be comfortable.
Luther's protest occured on a small scale compared to the rallies that have drawn thousands in Wisconsin, and Michigan, where some protesters carried rifles into the capitol building on April 30 while protesting the extension of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay at home orders.
But her case has been championed by Republican lawmakers who see stay-at-home orders as an infringement on Americans' liberties, a weight on the economy, and an example of government overreach.AdvertisementCruz visited her salon on Friday, and her case has been championed by influential conservatives like radio host Dan Bongino, who called her an "inspiration."
On Thursday night, Luther appeared as a guest on Sean Hannity's Fox News show, where he told her, "I admire your courage" and pledged to donate to her salon.
Luther said she and her stylists could not financially afford not to work during the shutdown, and they had implemented mask-wearing and social distancing policies to keep clients safe.AdvertisementShe said she had no regrets about refusing Judge Moyé's offer to apologize in exchange for a more lenient sentence.
"That was the last thing I was going to do, honestly," she said. "I couldn't bring myself to apologize."
Read the original article on Business Insider