Texas salon owner jailed for defying order is freed
Her case was a rallying cry against lockdowns
DALLAS — A Texas salon owner who defied Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency orders and was jailed for keeping her business open walked out free Thursday to cheering supporters after the governor weakened his enforcement of coronavirus safeguards and a court ordered her released.
Shelley Luther, owner of Salon A La Mode in Dallas, wore a mask while leaving jail less than 48 hours after a judge sentenced her to a week behind bars for flouting public health orders meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Her punishment had become a rallying cry for Republican lawmakers and conservative activists who have railed against lockdown measures in Texas, even as the state reopens at a speed faster than many others in the U.S.
Luther, who refused to apologize or promise to keep her business closed, even after a Dallas judge said doing so might keep her out of jail, said she was overwhelmed as she walked toward a crowd chanting her name. In April, Luther tore up a cease and desist letter in front of TV cameras at an “Open Texas” rally in the Dallas suburbs.
“I just want to thank all of you who I just barely met, and now you’re all my friends,” Luther said after leaving jail. “This would have been nothing without you. Thank you so, so much.”
Her release came hours after Abbott rushed to her defense by removing jail as a punishment for defying virus safeguards, thereby removing the toughest penalty. His new order did not mention removing other penalties, including fines, but the relaxed rules reflects the increasing pressure Abbott is under to more quickly reboot the Texas economy, even though he has already allowed restaurants and retailers to start letting customers back inside — a step many other governors have been reluctant to take.
Abbott made the announcement in a statement just before meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the response to the pandemic.
“We should not be taking these people and put them behind bars, these people who have spent their life building up a business,” Abbott told reporters in the Oval Office. When Trump asked if that included the beauty salon owner he had read about, Abbott said she was being released. “Good,” Trump said.
On Friday, Texas will allow all hair salons to resume business, just a week after Abbott suggested that he was aiming toward mid-May.