An arrest warrant has been issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank and told a police officer, “What are you going to do, arrest me?”
Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, Oregon. The incident Thursday at a Bank of America in Galveston was captured by the officer’s body, reports the Daily News in Galveston County.
Police said they had received a warrant for the arrest and charge of criminal offense.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed nationwide orders requiring people to wear face masks in public places, stating that businesses must decide for themselves which Covid-19 precautions to take. Many businesses have kept their own mask rules in place.
According to police, a bank manager called police after Wright refused to wear a mask while inside, and when asked to leave the building.
Police released the footage from the body’s camera. In the video, Wright can be seen standing in the middle of the bank’s foyer, surrounded by other customers who are all wearing masks.
Wright told the officer she came to the bank to make a withdrawal. The officer asked her to go outside or put on a mask. She refused.
“What are you going to do, arrest me?” she asked.
He replied, “Yes, because I intruded on the premises.”
She said, “It’s hilarious.”
Wright told the officer the law said she did not have to wear a mask. When the officer took out handcuffs, she pulled away and started walking towards the door. The officer stopped her and forced her to the ground. After being handcuffed, she complained that her foot was injured.
“Police brutality here, people,” she said. Answers of “no” and “no, it is not” could be heard.
Police said Wright sustained minor injuries during the fight and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Wright told the Washington Post she had never covered her face in stores, not even when the nationwide mandate was instituted. She said she lives in an RV park across from Galveston Bay in Hitchcock, Texas.
She told the newspaper that she was ‘attacked’ and compared the requirements for mask to the way Nazi Germany forced Jews to identify with a star of David.
She also said she believed in a ‘plandemic’ in reference to a documentary video in which an anti-vaccine activist promotes a series of dubious, false and potentially dangerous coronavirus theories.