Oregon man arrested after refusing to wear face mask in courtroom
John Kulbeth was anxious to get his court appearance on a traffic charge for failure to stop for a school bus completed.
He arrived for municipal court in Sweet Home Wednesday an hour earlier than his scheduled 10 a.m. appearance. A court clerk advised him to put on a face mask, he declined and stood in the back of the courtroom with his 6-year-old daughter, Baylee, far away from everyone else.
When Judge Larry Blake entered and saw him in the back of the room, “he proceeded to chew me out, tell me if I was not going to wear a mask he was going to hold me in contempt of court and have me lodged at Linn County Jail,” Kulbeth told the Statesman.
Kulbeth, who says he has breathing problems which led to him being medically discharged from the Army a decade ago, told the judge he would leave, took his daughter’s hand and walked to the parking lot.
Sweet Home Police Chief Jeff Lynn approached Kulbeth and told him the judge had ordered a warrant for his arrest.
After waiting for his wife to arrive to take their daughter, Kulbeth said was arrested and booked into a holding cell in Sweet Home, where he said he spent the next two hours.
Though face coverings while indoors are required in seven counties in Oregon, including bordering Marion County, Linn County is not one of them.
Brandon Neish, Sweet Home’s Director of Courts and Finance Director, said an executive team that includes several city administrators decided everyone would be required to wear face masks in court when the municipal court reopened June 10. Court had been shut down prior to then since March due the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neish said notifications of mask requirements related to court appearances were sent out, though exemptions to that policy weren’t included.
“If somebody notifies us of a health condition then we certainly would not enforce that,” Neish said.
Kulbeth, a log-truck driver who's business is based in Scio, said he never received that notice and didn’t learn about it until he arrived at the courtroom and saw a sign inside.
Neish said Kulbeth was not arrested for refusing to wear a mask, but because he left the courtroom without his case being completed.
After spending two hours in a holding cell, Kulbeth said Blake informed him his original case was continued to July 22, and to wear a face mask or bring a letter from a doctor saying he can’t wear a face mask or receive 30 days in jail for being in contempt of court.
Blake is a former deputy district attorney in Clackamas County and works as municipal court judge for cities including Happy Valley, Philomath, Manzanita, Newberg and Monroe as well as teaching at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, according to a bio on his law firm’s website.
He did not return calls to his law office for comment about the case.
“The judge has broad discretion regarding individuals’ interactions with staff and people in our courtroom,” Nerish said.
Kulbeth said he has filed a complaint with the city of Sweet Home about being arrested.
“I was just amazed,” Kulbeth said. “Like really, in Sweet Home to have somebody arrested in court for not wearing a mask.”
Kulbeth said after a social media post about his situation, he has been contacted by several Republican groups offering support.
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2020/06/26/oregon-coronavirus-mask-requirement-covid-19/3259320001/