Home Scandal and Gossip Come arrest me: Dallas hair salon owner remains open despite lockdown order

Come arrest me: Dallas hair salon owner remains open despite lockdown order

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Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner
Pictured, Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner of
Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner
Pictured, Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner of Salon A La Mode.

Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner of Salon A La Mode refuses to abide by Texas lockdown laws claiming it is her constitutional right to open despite public health crises.

‘I’ll go to jail to jail to prove what they’re doing is unconstitutional’.

The above are the words a stand alone Texas hair salon owner has uttered in defiance of that state’s mandate barring stores to open during lockdown orders amid the sweeping US coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the multitude of temporary restraining orders that has hit her Dallas store, Salon A La Mode, Shelley Luther insists it is her constitutional right to remain open and conduct business even in the throes of a public health crises.

Luther had opened the doors of her Dallas hair salon since Friday, despite Gov.Greg Abbott’s Open Texas plan which to date has not allowed non essential business to re open since first going on lockdown last month.

On Friday, Luther was hit with a cease and desist letter to close her shop, followed by a $1,000 citation. Police served her temporary restraining orders on Tuesday and yet again on Wednesday, to no avail. 

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‘It’s our right to earn an income for our families’

On Wednesday, police were seen at the salon demanding Luther shutter her salon according to the restraining order issued by district court judge Eric Moyé, which mandates she close until March 12. 

Shelley instead has continued to defy the legal action again and is even now daring officials to arrest her.  

‘I’m still here, I’m standing for your rights and Salon A La Mode is open for business,’ the business owner posted in a Facebook Live on Wednesday. 

In the Facebook clip she wears a mask and speaks with her supporters with the Open Texas anti-lockdown movement who gathered outside her business. 

‘Apparently there’s a very good chance that I’m getting arrested today and I will do everything I can to keep the shop open because I’m not closing the store. If they arrest me I have someone that will keep the store open because it’s our right to keep the store open. It’s our right for those women to earn income for their families,’ she said to the crowd outside her salon Wednesday, according to CBS. 

Texas is currently reopening in incremental phases

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday the first phase of plans to reopen businesses across Texas where restaurants, retail shops, malls and movie theaters can open at 25 percent capacity starting Friday, but salons and barbershops must remain closed. 

Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner
Shelley Luther Dallas hair salon owner ripping citation notice in front of supporters.

I’m not doing anything criminal, so they cannot arrest me.’

On Friday, April 24 Luther made headlines when she said she would open her salon even if it violated state lockdown rules designed to curb the spread of COVID-19

She was booked with an $1,000 citation along with Judge Clay Jenkins sending a cease and desist letter on Friday – but Luther said she still intended to be open.    

Luther has countered that Judge Jenkins is abusing his power and she’s rallying for all businesses to be opened. 

‘All I know is he’s abusing his power… he’s got to be stopped somehow,’ Luther said.  

Over the weekend at an Open Texas rally to reopen businesses in Frisco, Texas Luther defiantly ripped her cease and desist letter that was issued Friday into pieces before a cheering crowd, while insisting she had no intention of paying any fines.

Told Luther to her followers: ‘I’m not doing anything criminal, so they cannot arrest me.’

Adding, ‘I want them to know we have rights, but if you cannot afford to pay us and feed our families and help us because the systems are so backlogged, then you have to let us work.’

Posted by Shelley Luther on Wednesday, April 29, 2020

‘If I have to … go to jail to prove a point’

Luther says that her business needs to be open because her hairstylists need to work to provide for their families. She argues that her salon is a safe and clean environment that doesn’t pose a threat in spreading COVID-19. 

‘I can’t afford to not stay open, and my stylists can’t afford to stop working anymore,’ Luther said to ABC13 over the weekend. ‘We’re about to lose everything and haven’t gotten any help, so I had to make a decision.’ 

On Tuesday she shared a Facebook Live saying: ‘If I have to … go to jail to prove a point that what they’re doing is totally unconstitutional, then that’s what happens. I’m not scared.’

Officials for the City of Dallas say that if the salon doesn’t shut down immediately local residents ‘will suffer irreparable injury’.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says it has received multiple complaints against Salon A La Mode.

‘We actually have received more than 50 complaints, but we’ve opened 10 cases,’ TDLR spokeswoman Tela Mange said to WFAA on the Dallas salon.

A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled at 1pm on May 11. 

Luther’s case comes amid widespread protests in response to lockdown measures in Texas, with hundreds calling on Gov. Abbott to full open the state despite his incremental opening plan.

Of note as of Friday morning in Texas there are more than 27,566 cases of COVID-19 and 740 deaths.  

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