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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened to sue Austin city officials defying Governor Abbott’s order lifting COVID restrictions in the state.
“City/county leaders must not be thinking clearly. Maybe it’s oxygen deprivation from quintuple-masking,” Paxton tweeted Wednesday with an attached statement. “Whatever the case, they’ve tried this before. They lost. Travis County and Austin have a few hours to comply with state law or I’ll sue them. And they’ll lose again.”
Paxton reminded Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown that they’ve already lost in court against the AG’s office under “similar circumstances“, and they have until 6:00PM CDT to rescind local mask mandates or face another lawsuit.
“The decision to require masks or otherwise impose COVID-19-related operating limits is expressly reserved to private businesses on their own premises,” the statement reads. “It does not rest with jurisdictions like the City of Austin or Travis County or their local health authorities. Nor do they have the authority to threaten fines for non-compliance.”
“We have already taken you to court under similar circumstances. You lost. If you continue to flout the law in this manner, we’ll take you to court again and you will lose again.”
Owen Shroyer guest hosts The Alex Jones Show to report on the Texas Attorney General’s intent to hold Democrats like Austin Mayor Steve Adler accountable for illegally enforcing mask mandates.