Woman, 65, arrested after refusing to wear mask inside Texas bank, police say

GALVESTON, Texas — A 65-year-old woman traveling the country completing her bucket list was arrested after refusing to wear a face mask when she tried to make a withdrawal from a bank.

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Galveston Police said Terry Wright, 65, of Grants Pass, Oregon, walked into a Bank of America in Galveston, Texas, around 12:30 p.m. Thursday without wearing a mask, and refused to put one on when officers asked her to, the Galveston Daily News reported.

Wright told officers she was there to make a withdrawal. An officer said she had to wear a mask to do so. Otherwise she “needed to leave the bank if she did not want to wear a face mask as requested by bank management,” officers said.

Wright pushed back, citing the state’s mask mandate recently ended. While the statewide mask order ended Wednesday, it left face covering regulation and enforcement up to businesses.

In video of the incident, the officer said, “Ma’am, listen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”Wright replies: “What are you going to do? Arrest me? That’s hilarious.”

The confrontation escalates and Wright is taken to the ground and into custody. She was taken to a hospital where she was treated for minor injuries and released, KHOU reported. On Friday, she was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass, KTRK reported.

Wright is opposed to wearing a mask and told KTRK she is traveling the country completing items from her “bucket list.” She said she would have gone through the drive through but her recreational vehicle would not fit.

Cox Media Group