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U.S. Senator Ted Cruz gave liberals something more to gripe about as he added another chapter to the story of the Dallas salon owner who was jailed after opening up her business.
The Texas Republican decided to get his first haircut in three months in Dallas on Friday at the Salon a la Mode, owned by Shelley Luther who made headlines by defying a state order to close her shop and was jailed on a contempt of court charge this week.
(Source: CBSDFW)
“We’re thrilled to be with you and know the whole State of Texas is standing with you, so thank you for your courage,” Cruz told Luther as he entered the salon Friday wearing a face mask.
A stylist named Maria, who admitted she was nervous, proceeded to give the lawmaker a haircut as he spoke with Luther about her experience over the last few days.
Hair salons & barbershops are open in TX today. 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. Glad Shelley is out of jail & her business is open! pic.twitter.com/yJD8fWb84W
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020
Luther was serving the seven-day jail sentence when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott modified his own coronavirus executive orders on Thursday and effectively freed her.
“Throwing Texans in jail who have had their businesses shut down through no fault of their own is nonsensical, and I will not allow it to happen,” Abbott said in a press release from his office.
“That is why I am modifying my executive orders to ensure confinement is not a punishment for violating an order,” he added, noting that the order is “retroactive to April 2nd, supersedes local orders and if correctly applied should free Shelley Luther.”
Abbott, along with Cruz, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had all openly condemned the ruling by District Judge Eric Moyé in sentencing Luther on a contempt charge for violating a temporary restraining order.
“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,” Cruz tweeted Wednesday.
#NEW Standing outside Salon A’ La Mode after getting a haircut, #Texas @SenTedCruz says he is proud to support owner Shelley Luther. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/D42Z40gsx2
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) May 8, 2020
Luther told Cruz she was remembering to “stay humble” after the jail time, noting how much her life has changed, with all the attention, support and even a GoFundMe page set up to cover her expenses that has reached over half a million dollars.
#NEW Salon A’ La Mode owner Shelley Luther says she’ll use the money from her gofundme account, now $500,105, to pay her legal bills. She says she’d also like to help the 2 women who were arrested in Laredo last month after they were accused of offering cosmetic services. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/Rl3f3NemSd
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) May 8, 2020
She praised Cruz for “leading by example” and actually avoiding getting a haircut as they spoke about other lawmakers who had clearly been able to get services, as she called out “all of these officials who are supposed to lead by example” but “are not doing as they say and putting people in jail or citing them for something they do themselves.”
Luther was released from the Dallas County Jail on Thursday and briefly spoke to supporters and reporters through tears, expressing her gratitude amid being “overwhelmed.”
Powerful. Inspirational. God bless Shelley and God bless the Texas Supreme Court for standing up for Liberty and common sense. #ThisIsTexas https://t.co/alizRH3WJd
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 8, 2020
“When people reach out with true authenticity, it’s huge,” she said through tears on Friday, telling the CBS camera crew how grateful she was to the senator.
“It’s a nice gesture. His family actually called my boyfriend and prayed for him for 20 minutes while I was in jail,” she said. “To me, that’s not political… that’s just really nice people reaching out and making sure that our family is okay.”
Cruz spoke to reporters after his haircut.
“I’m proud to stand with Shelly Luther. What happened to her was wrong. It was ridiculous to see someone sentenced to seven days in jail for cutting hair. That’s not right, that’s not justice and that’s not Texas,” he said, also commenting on the judge’s treatment of Luther in court.
(Source: CBSDFW)
“I watched the exchange in court, where the judge demanded that she apologize to the elected officials for daring to open up her business. I was disgusted by what I saw. In the United States, elected officials don’t have the right to demand of citizens that they apologize for anything,” Cruz said. “That’s not the way our system works.”
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