A crowd of at least a dozen people protested Wednesday night at a Dallas County courthouse and at the home of District Judge Eric Moyé, furious over the jailing of hair stylist Shelley Luther, according to videos of the incident shared on social media.
The crowd gathered on the same day that Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton issued statements critical of the judge, prompting a swift rebuke from a dozen civil district judges in Dallas County.
The case, which started as a local enforcement action by Dallas police and prosecutors, has quickly turned into a public clash between Paxton, Abbott and the Texas judiciary.
Also at stake is the personal safety of the judge himself, as activists have shared his contact information and personal details on social media and eventually showed up at his doorstep, threatening to make his life a “living hell.”
Screaming into a bullhorn at the home of the judge, one of the protests leaders, Infowars host Owen Shroyer, said, “I’m going to make it a goal to make as much awareness for this as soon as possible to try to get as many people out here as possible.”
“Know this: Until you do your duty and release Shelley from jail, people will continue to harass you. And even if you don’t release her in the next seven days, the rest of your life is going to be a living hell, because you will be known as a tyrant,” he said.
Another bystander shouted, “What goes around comes around, buddy.”
The protesters want the judge to reverse a sentence that he imposed on the hair stylist Shelley Luther for criminal contempt, after she refused to close her salon despite a court restraining order. Given the opportunity to avoid a jail sentence if she would close until Friday, May 8, the day on which other Texas hair salons are being allowed to open, Luther refused.
Sheriff’s deputies stood guard at the judge’s home, preventing the protesters from accessing the property to knock on the door.
‘Shameful Abuse of Judicial Discretion’
Earlier on Wednesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to the Dallas County judge, and issued a press release, stating that the judge “abused his authority by putting Shelley Luther, owner of a hair salon, in jail for opening her salon to feed her family.”
Paxton wrote, “The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. He should release Ms. Luther immediately.”
Similarly, Governor Greg Abbott stated, “I join the Attorney General in disagreeing with the excessive action by the Dallas Judge, putting Shelley Luther in jail for seven days.”
“Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that than jailing a Texas mother.”
Several other Texas politicians also spoke out against the judge’s ruling, including Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who called the sentence “unacceptable” and offered to pay the fine.
Judges to Paxton: Do Not Interfere
In response to Paxton’s letter, a dozen Dallas County judges wrote to say that the attorney general’s “interference” was improper, even going so far as to call it a violation of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
The letter reads in full:
Dear General Paxton,
Your correspondence of date has been received by the Fourteenth Judicial District Court of Texas, sitting in Dallas. Please accept this collective response.
At the outset, we, the twelve Texas Civil District Judges sitting in Dallas County are troubled by what appears to be an ex parte communication about a pending case, directed to the Court without consideration of the other litigants. As a current Member of the Bar, you certainly should be aware of the impropriety of this contact, as prohibited by Canon 3(b)(8) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct.
“ … A Judge shall not initiate, permit or consider ex parte communications or other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties …”
In this context, for your to “Urge” a Judge towards a particular substantive outcome in this matter is most inappropriate and unwelcome. Please do not communicate with the Court in this manner further.
Similarly, your comment in the penultimate sentence of your correspondence is also inappropriate. The Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court will ultimately make any determination as to any alleged “abuse of discretion” by this or any other Court. That will ONLY occur after all parties are afforded due process and an opportunity to be heard. It is contrary to the concept of an independent Judiciary and offends the tradition of separation of powers for any member of the Executive Branch of Texas government to interject itself into the proceedings of the Judicial Branch.
We trust that this shall not happen further. For the sake of ALL of the citizens of Texas, please let the Judicial process play out without any further interference.
‘Hateful, Racist Messages’
The group that demonstrated Wednesday night referred repeatedly to the letters from Attorney General Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott, questioning why the judge would not take direction from these two officials. One female protester asked the officers guarding the home whether they would let them past to “deliver a message from Ken Paxton.”
Speaking through a bullhorn, activist Shroyer said, “Judge Moyé, I’m going to make this short and I’m going to make this sweet. Do your damn job, do what the governor and the attorney general told you to do and release Shelley from jail. You’re now considered a criminal until you do that.”
The Dallas Morning News reported that the judge has received hate messages ever since he ruled against the hair stylist: “Jeff Dalton, a political consultant who’s worked with Moyé for over a decade, said that since the judge’s ruling, Moyé has received hateful, racist messages, and his home address and phone numbers were posted online.”
