A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that Rep. Thomas Massie and two other members of U.S. Congress filed against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a mask mandate.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that Pelosis mask mandate which required representatives to mask while in the House Chamber did not violate the First or 27th Amendments, which the lawsuit claimed.
In the initial lawsuit, Massie, along with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) claimed that their First Amendment free-speech rights were violated because it made them instruments for fostering public adherence to this ideological point of view that Plaintiffs find unacceptable. They also claimed it violated the 27th Amendment which prohibits Congress from enacting laws that increase or decrease a sitting members salary because the amendment is at its heart, an anti-corruption measure, designed to prevent Congress from increasing, decreasing, or limiting compensation as a cudgel against political opponents.
Walton disagreed, ruling that that a $500 fine that the representatives received for not wearing a mask in spring of 2021 did not violate the 27th Amendment, saying that the financial penalty was based on behavior, and that a mask mandate did not violate the free-speech rights of the First Amendment, saying that the mask mandate was in response to a health crisis.
Pelosi put the mask mandate in place in May 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic, and a resolution approved by the House in January 2021 allowed members to be fined $500 the first time they violated the policy, and $2,500 for additional violations.
In a statement, Massie said that he plans to continue to pursue the lawsuit. His press office also told LEO that the notice of appeal has been filed.
The judge came to the tortured conclusion that collecting mask fines by direct reduction of members salaries did not constitute reductions in salary, which is otherwise prohibited by the Constitution, he said in the statement. We are glad to have a ruling that gets us one step closer to the Supreme Court, where we believe a plain reading of the Constitution will clearly show Speaker Pelosi has violated the Constitution.
Keep Louisville interesting and support LEO Weekly by subscribing to our newsletter here. In return, youll receive news with an edge and the latest on where to eat, drink and hang out in Derby City.
This article appears in March 2, 2022.
