An arrest warrant has been issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank
GALVESTON, Texas – An arrest warrant was issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank, telling a police officer, “What are you going to do, arrest me?”
Police have issued an order for the arrest of Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, Oregon. Thursday’s incident at a Bank of America in Galveston was captured by the officer’s body camera, The Galveston County Daily News reported.
Police say he has obtained an arrest warrant to resist arrest and rape.
On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put an end to statewide orders requiring people to wear masks in public places, stating that companies must decide for themselves what precautions COVID-19 they took over their properties. Many companies have kept their own mask rules in place.
Police said a bank manager called police after Wright refused to wear a mask while inside, and then refused to leave the building when asked.
On Friday, the police department released video footage from the officer’s body camera. In the video, Wright can be seen standing in the middle of the bank lobby, surrounded by other customers, all wearing masks.
Wright told the agent he had come to the bank to make a withdrawal. The officer asked him to come out or put on a mask. She refused.
“What are you going to do, arrest me?” she asked.
He replied, “Yes, for having entered premises.” And then he said, “That’s funny.”
Wright told the officer the law said he should not wear a mask. When the officer removed the handcuffs, she pulled away and began walking toward the door. The officer stopped her and forced her to the ground. After being handcuffed, she complained that her foot had hurt.
“Police brutality right here,” he told other bank customers. The answers of “no” and “no, it’s not” could be heard.
Police said she suffered minor injuries during the fight and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Wright told the Washington Post that he has never covered his face in stores, even when the state mandate was in place. He said he was in an RV park on the other side of Galveston Bay in Hitchcock, Texas.
She told the newspaper she was “attacked” and compared the mask requirements to the way Nazi Germany forced Jews to identify with a Star of David. He also said he believed in a “plandemic” in a reference to a documentary-style video in which a vaccine activist promotes a series of questionable, false, and potentially dangerous theories of coronavirus.