Dallas Salon Owner Who Defied Government Travels to Michigan To Lend a Hand
The Texas salon owner who was jailed for violating stay-at-home orders traveled to Owosso, Michigan, to support a barber whose license was suspended after he reopened his shop for a week.
Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon a la Mode in Dallas, Texas, called Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a “tyrant” for suspending 77-year-old Karl Manke’s license, CBS News reported.
“Gretchen, the state of Michigan will vote you out,” she said.
“Stop being a tyrant,” she added. “Open up. You don’t get this control. We control you. We have the power.”
Manke reopened his shop on May 4, defying Whitmer’s executive order for salons, barbershops and other businesses to stay closed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ll be open until Jesus walks in or until they arrest me,” the owner of Karl Manke’s Barbershop told MLive.
He added that he didn’t need the governor to be his mother.
“I can take care of myself and run my own business the way I feel that I need to run it,” Manke said at the time.
Manke faces two misdemeanors with a $1,000 fine and is expected to appear in court on June 23.
His professional license and the license for his barbershop were both suspended on May 13, according to Michigan’s Department of Attorney General.
“Why does your governor think that it’s OK to open up for marijuana, liquor sales?” Luther asked.
“Can’t you get an abortion? But you cannot get your hair cut. What is wrong?”
Luther had been jailed on May 5 for opening her business in defiance of Texas’ lockdown order but was released after less than 48 hours when Gov. Greg Abbott dropped jail as a possible punishment.
Both Luther and Manke have said that they reopened to pay bills and support their employees and the community.
“Karl has made it clear,” Manke’s attorney David Kallman told The Detroit News.
“He has no animus toward anyone — the governor, the attorney general — he just wants to work, and he wants to do it in a safe responsible way.”
As of Tuesday morning, there are 51,915 cases of coronavirus in Michigan, including 227 in Shiawassee country where Owosso is located, according to data from the state.
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