Sen. Ted Cruz expressed outrage upon hearing news of a seven-day jail sentence handed down to a Texas salon owner who refused to shut down her business despite an executive order from the governor to do so.
Shelley Luther, who owns a salon in suburban Dallas, was found by police to have violated Gov. Greg Abbott’s shutdown measure by operating a nonessential business and was sentenced by a judge to serve a week in jail for violating the executive order. Luther was also ordered to pay a $500 fine for each day she operated her business in violation of the order.
Judge Eric Moye said Luther “owe[s] an apology to the elected officials for whom you disrespected for flagrantly ignoring and, in one case, defiling their orders, which you now know obviously applies to you.”
Cruz scoffed at that assertion.
“7 days in jail for cutting hair?? This is NUTS,” Cruz tweeted Tuesday. “And government officials don’t get to order citizens to apologize to them for daring to earn a living.”
7 days in jail for cutting hair?? This is NUTS. And government officials don’t get to order citizens to apologize to them for daring to earn a living. https://t.co/3rulRlN0gE
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 6, 2020
Luther was emotional in the courtroom Tuesday and explained she had to open her business in order to provide for her family.
“Judge, I would like to say that I have much respect for this court and laws, and that I’ve never been in this position before, and it’s not someplace that I want to be, but I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I’m selfish,” she said. “Because feeding my kids is not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they’d rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please, go ahead with your decision, but I’m not going to shut the salon.”
Abbott’s shutdown order for salons is set to expire Friday.
