May 6, 2020      3:37 PM

After previously warning of prosecutions for defying emergency orders, Abbott and Paxton change their tune when a Dallas hair salon owner is jailed

Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough backed down after Paxton warned of prosecutions for opening hair salons in defiance of Abbott’s order, but the case of Shelley Luther has Gov. Abbott and Paxton asking for her immediate release in Dallas

Under pressure from their right flank, Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday called for the immediate release of a hair salon owner jailed in Dallas County after she defied the governor’s order to keep her business closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelley Luther was sentenced to seven days in jail by a State District Court Judge in North Texas after she had been given the chance to apologize and close her business.

Luther said no, arguing there is nothing wrong with working alongside her employees as they all do their best to feed their families.

Conservative activists and some Republican lawmakers have seized on her case as an example of government overreach, despite the fact she was clearly in contempt of court, per the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright May 06, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved