The Dallas salon owner sentenced to seven days in prison for defying Texas stay-at-home orders has slammed the government for ‘confusion’ over its small business loans as she reveals she got $18,000 – but had no idea where it had come from and whether to spend it.
Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon A La Mode, repeatedly refused to close her business saying she needed to stay open to ‘feed her kids’ during lockdown.
However Luther has since revealed that she applied for and received $18,000 from the government, under the Paycheck Protection Program set up to help struggling businesses pay staff and stay afloat amid state lockdowns.
She defended her actions in an interview with Fox News Tuesday morning, saying she did not learn she had been given the handout until two days before her court date when the money landed in her account without warning.
Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther has slammed the government for ‘confusion’ over its small business loans as she reveals she got $18,000 – but had no idea where it had come from and whether to spend it
‘Yes I applied for it – two of them the EIDL and the PPP – right away the first day they were available to fill them out,’ she said.
‘I didn’t hear anything for weeks and weeks and weeks and all of a sudden, two days before my court trial, money drops in my account and I had no idea what it was.’
Luther said she had no guidance from the government how to spend the funds and blasted the process for being ‘confusing’.
‘There was no email, no information, no letter, no instructions of how to spend the money so it was difficult to even know what it was or how to spend it,’ she said.
‘Everything is so crazy and confusing coming from the government right now.’
She said other people hard-hit economically by the pandemic have reached out to her about the uncertainty they also face at this time.
‘There’s still a lot of people not getting the financial help they need,’ said Luther.
‘Across the nation I’m getting letters and messages from people who can’t get through to unemployment and it’s sad.’
Luther, who was sentenced to seven days in prison for defying Texas stay-at-home orders, defended taking a PPP loan while insisting she had to stay open to feed her family in an interview with Fox news Tuesday
Her claims of confusion over the emergency funds came after she was confronted Monday by ABC’s The View host Sunny Hostin over news she had received the PPP loan while maintaining she and her stylists could not afford for the business to close.
‘You applied for small business loans and unemployment, and you did receive some aid from the government,’ Hostin questioned Luther. ‘You received $18,000 from the government.’
‘So I understand why people feel so strongly about going back to work because they feel that the government isn’t doing its job and taking care of people, but in this instance, two days before you went to court, the money went into your account,’ Hostin added. ‘So I’m troubled by that.’
Luther replied that she didn’t know what to do with the money.
‘What happened was I already had the court date, and I already had been open the entire time,’ the salon owner said.
‘There was $18,000 dropped in my bank account with no notice of what it was. So I get no instructions.’
Luther told Fox News Tuesday her business has been ‘booming’ since she reopened on her release – including welcoming Senator Ted Cruz for a haircut Friday (pictured)
Luther’s case has become a symbol for the divide ravaging America as protesters demand states end lockdowns while counter-protesters insist the measures are saving lives.
The salon owner has been hailed a hero by many business owners and walked out of jail Thursday to crowds of supporters who slammed the Texas judge who imprisoned her for being ‘out of touch’.
Luther told Fox News Tuesday her business has been ‘booming’ since she reopened on her release – including welcoming Senator Ted Cruz for a haircut Friday.
Luther walked free from prison Thursday afternoon (pictured) after two days of a seevn-day sentence
The salon owner was released after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release
‘Business is booming – we have people traveling from across the US to come in and get a haircut just to prove the point that they support us,’ she said Tuesday.
‘This for me has given people a sense of liberty back and I’m just proud to say we were happy to be part of this movement.’
She slammed the stay-at-home orders as a ‘form of discrimination’ as she said the decision to allow some businesses to stay open while others were forced to shutter didn’t ‘make sense’.
‘The way of picking what is essential and non-essential doesn’t sense and you cross one county line to another the rules change,’ she argued.
‘So how do they expect us to follow rules when you don’t even know what they are when you step into another county.’
Luther walked free from prison Thursday afternoon, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott amended his executive order that morning removing the possibility for citizens to be imprisoned for violating stay-at-home orders, and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release.
Protesters gathered outside the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in downtown Dallas Thursday where Luther was being held
She emerged to a hero’s welcome from crowds of supporters who had gathered demanding her release, after her imprisonment sparked an outcry from senior state officials and anti-lockdown protesters
She emerged to a hero’s welcome from crowds of supporters who had gathered demanding her release, after her imprisonment sparked an outcry from senior state officials and anti-lockdown protesters.
Luther originally complied with the Texas shutdown orders when they were first handed down on March 22, but after weeks of seeing them extended again and again, she reopened her salon on April 24.
She received multiple citations for opening her business against the state orders.
Luther argued that her business needed to be open because her hairstylists need to work to provide for their families.
She also said her salon is a safe and clean environment that doesn’t pose a threat in spreading COVID-19.
On April 24 she received a cease and desist letter from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
The following day at an Open Texas rally to reopen businesses in Frisco, Texas, she was seen ripping the letter into pieces before a cheering crowd.
She then received a court-issued temporary restraining order on April 28 mandating she close her business.
After her repeated defiance, State District Judge Eric Moyé sentenced her last Tuesday to seven days behind bars and handed her a fine of $7,000, saying he found her in criminal and civil contempt of court.
Luther in court last Tuesday where State District Judge Eric Moyé sentenced her to seven days behind bars and handed her a fine of $7,000, saying he found her in criminal and civil contempt of court
He gave her the opportunity to admit fault and offered to commute her sentence if she apologized for ‘being selfish’, but Luther refused to admit she did anything wrong.
‘I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I am 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 being fed, then please go ahead with your decision. But I’m not going to shut the salon,’ she said before the judge.
Texas – along with other southern states – has been one of the first to lift restrictions, despite a growing number of cases of the deadly virus.
On Friday, hair salons, barbers and nail salons were all able to reopen for business, as long as businesses comply with social distancing guidelines.
Luther pictured being issued a citation by Dallas City officials on April 24 when she reopened in defiance of stay-at-home orders