Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser was photographed not wearing a mask while reportedly officiating an indoor wedding Saturday — not even 24 hours after re-imposing an indoor mask mandate for the district.
The event occurred at The Line DC, a four-star hotel in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of the city, and was reportedly attended by hundreds of unmasked guests.
The mayor was approached by a reporter for the Washington Examiner but was reportedly escorted away by security detail before she could be questioned about being maskless in spite of her new order. The Examiner also obtained a photo of Bowser maskless at the wedding.
When encountered by the Washington Examiner, Mayor Bowser confirmed that she officiated the maskless, indoor wedding, but when asked why she was violating her own mask mandate, her security retinue quickly escorted her away. https://t.co/hY0Ji2zqnj pic.twitter.com/xozhIupSin
— Tiana Lowe (@TianaTheFirst) August 1, 2021
Bowser announced on Thursday that she would be reimposing an indoor mask mandate — which began at 5 a.m. Saturday — for the nation’s capital regardless of vaccination status. She imposed the mandate even though D.C. has had just two deaths from COVID-19 in the last two weeks
“I know D.C. residents have been very closely following the public health guidelines and they will embrace this,” the mayor said when making the announcement.
She was also criticized Saturday after photos uploaded to social media appeared to show her celebrating her birthday at a large indoor gathering with comedian Dave Chappelle hours before her mask mandate went into effect for the district. (RELATED: Here Are 9 Lame Excuses Politicians Gave For Breaking Their Own COVID Rules)
The mayor was also criticized in November when she traveled to Delaware to attend President Joe Biden’s speech declaring victory in the 2020 presidential election — in violation of her own rule forcing travelers from outside of the district to quarantine for 14 days.