A Maryland man will serve a year in prison after hosting two large house parties that violated the state’s coronavirus restrictions, according to the Charles County State Attorney’s Office.
Shawn Marshall Myers, 42, was convicted of two counts of failure to comply with an emergency order, according to the state attorney’s statement. His sentence was delivered by District Court Judge W. Louis Hennessy, The Hill reported.
In addition to his yearlong sentence, Myers will serve three years of unsupervised probation, according to the statement.
ICYMI: A Maryland man who threw multiple gatherings of more than 50 people despite the governor’s emergency order due to the coronavirus will spend a year in jail https://t.co/rVJHS41IOR
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) September 26, 2020
Officers claimed that the first party, which Myers hosted on March 22, had approximately 50 people. He eventually agreed to end the party after initially arguing with officers, according to The Hill.
The second event, hosted five days later, exceeded 50 people, and resulted in officers being called to the home. Police described Myers as “argumentative” and said he claimed that “he and his guests had a right to congregate,” resulting in his arrest, The Hill reported.
Both events were in violation of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s state of emergency orders due to the coronavirus pandemic, which prohibited gatherings over more than 10 people. (RELATED: ‘3 Violations And You’re Closed’: Cuomo Threatens NY Restaurants And Bars That Break COVID Rules)
The sentencing comes as Maryland has recorded over 122,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 4,000 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.