Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw blasted a judge in Texas who he accused of getting in the way of U.S. citizens trying to earn a living after hearing news of a jail sentence he had given to a salon owner who reopened her business.
Shelley Luther was sentenced by a judge to serve a week in jail for violating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring nonessential businesses close amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Luther, who said she opened her business as a means of survival, was told by Judge Eric Moye that she owed elected officials an apology for openly defying their commands and endangering public health.
“These punishments are NOT just,” Crenshaw said. “They are not reasonable. Small-minded ‘leaders’ across the country have become drunk with power.”
The Republican congressman continued, “This must end.”
[Read more: ‘A message to the governor’: Texas lawmakers get illegal haircuts while calling for salons to reopen]
These punishments are NOT just. They are not reasonable. Small-minded “leaders” across the country have become drunk with power. This must end. https://t.co/d31aEZg8b4
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) May 6, 2020
Luther’s case has galvanized Republicans across the state and country who say lockdown measures implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus have gone too far and hurt local economies irreparably.
“7 days in jail for cutting hair?? This is NUTS,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted Tuesday. “And government officials don’t get to order citizens to apologize to them for daring to earn a living.”
Republican Rep. Chip Roy, also from Texas, encouraged his Twitter followers to donate to a GoFundMe supporting Luther.
