GALVESTON, Texas – A woman from Oregon who was videotaped by a police body camera refusing to wear a mask at a Texas bank last week was arrested Wednesday after refusing to wear a mask inside another company in the Texas.
Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, already had an arrest warrant against her after she refused to wear a mask at a Bank of America branch in Galveston, Texas, last Thursday. In the video, she teases the policeman, asking if he is going to arrest her.
Police arrested Wright on Wednesday after she entered the Office Depot in Texas City and said she would not cover her nose and mouth to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, police spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said. She was arrested under Galveston warrants for trespassing and resisting arrest, Bjerke said.
Wright was taken into custody without incident, Bjerke added, noting that she was not charged with trespassing on the office supply store and that no additional charges were expected.
Governor Greg Abbott last week suspended state orders requiring people to wear masks in public in Texas, declaring that companies should decide for themselves what precautions COVID-19 should take on their properties. Many companies have kept their own masking rules in place.
In the widely seen video of Wright’s confrontation with the Galveston bank official, Wright is in the bank’s lobby, surrounded by other clients, all wearing masks.
The policeman asks her to leave or put on a mask. She refuses.
“What are you going to do, arrest me?” she asks.
He replies: “Yes, for intrusion into the site.”
“This is hilarious,” she replies.
As the policeman removed the handcuffs, she stepped away and started walking towards the door. The officer stopped her and forced her to the floor to handcuff her.
Wright’s bail was set at $ 3,000 for misdemeanor charges, police said. She was detained at Galveston County Prison on Wednesday afternoon.
–The Associated Press