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A Dallas salon owner who was jailed for refusing to shut down her business during the COVID pandemic will soon be a state congresswoman.

State Rep.-elect Shelly Luther defeated Democrat Tiffany Drake with almost 78 percent of the vote last week, meaning she’s on her way to the state legislature.

The hard-earned victory comes after two consecutive losses — once in 2020 when she lost a primary election for a state Senate seat and again in 2022, when she lost a primary election for a state House seat.

The victory also comes after Luther was jailed in 2020 for refusing to shut down her salon.

“A Dallas salon owner who has refused to close her shop despite multiple court orders has now been sentenced to a week in jail,” CBS News reported on May 6th,2020.

“A judge … called Shelley Luther’s open defiance of social distancing orders ‘flagrant and intentional’ and said she felt no ‘remorse or regret’ for her actions,” the reporting continued.

Luther went viral a month earlier when she reopened her salon after her left-wing city and county ordered so-called “non-essential” businesses to be closed in March.

“She has said she opposed the stay-at-home order for financial reasons and publicly ripped up one of the court orders at a protest with more than 100 others,” CBS reported.

At the time, the judge presiding over the case offered her a lighter sentence if she admitted to being wrong, but she bravely refused.

“I have much respect for this court and laws,” she said in court. “I have 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 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 am not going to shut the salon,” she added.

She was backed by none other than Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther,” Paxton wrote in a letter to the judge. “His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas.”

Abbott somewhat concurred.

“As I have made clear through prior pronouncements, jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option,” he said in a soft statement. “Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother.”

To this day, Luther blames her incarceration on the governor:

But to Abbott’s credit, he did eventually seek her counsel.

“[W]hen the governor’s team reached out to her … it was not to demand that she close or to threaten the jail time he had warned about,” according to The Texas Tribune. “Instead, his advisers sought her guidance: How could they open salons sooner? What safety measures did she recommend?”

“Just over a week later, Abbott had done what Luther wanted, allowing salons to reopen sooner than anticipated, and Luther was in jail — a Democratic judge in Dallas issued the sentence when she repeatedly refused to close her salon,” the reporting continues.

A GoFundMe fundraiser started on her behalf raised close to half a million dollars.

“Shelley Luther is an American Hero that has decided to resist tyranny by opening her business against an unlawful State Executive Order,” the fundraiser reads. “Her business, SALON A LA MODE offers services for hair and nails, microblading, permanent makeup, professional event makeup, braiding, and more! Shelley and her team will likely face legal action, fines, and more during her journey back to freedom.”

“She is doing what everyone else is only talking about, in a patriotic move to take back her liberty! Please support Shelley, and her employees by contributing to this worthy cause. You will not just be supporting Shelley, but you will be supporting the idea that our founders put in writing in the Constitution. 100% of all donations will go directly to Shelley Luther,” it continues.

Vivek Saxena
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