Council Member Has Mic Cut After He Tries To Ban Masks During Meeting

A South Carolina county council meeting ended abruptly when a member had his mic cut off while trying to propose a ban on mask mandates.

On Tuesday, members of the Greenville County Council in South Carolina met, where member Stan Tzouvelekas proposed an ordinance to prohibit mask mandates in parts of the county. The proposed ordinance would make it unlawful "for any person, entity, business, school, educational facility or public entity to require, direct or order that any individual wear a mask to enter or remain on any of their premises normally open to the public," if there is no declared National Public Emergency or a South Carolina Emergency relating to a national health.

The proposed ordinance comes as many Republican governors in states such as Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Oklahoma and Utah have already said they will not return to any masking requirements amid concerns of an increase in new COVID-19 cases. Some hospitals in New York have returned to mask mandates in response to new COVID-19 cases, as well as the health care company Kaiser Permanente, in California.

During the council meeting on Tuesday, Tzouvelekas spoke about his proposed ordinance, which would not apply to medical facilities or doctor's offices and said: "There's not a federal mandate right now. I don't want our county to require people to wear masks if there's not a federal mandate. If they want to wear a mask, they certainly can. It doesn't stop that. But, you cannot require them to wear a mask," WSPA-TV in South Carolina reported.

As Tzouvelekas continued to speak about his ordinance, other council members began to interrupt including Chairman Dan Tripp, who called for Tzouvelekas's mic to be cut off. The meeting was abruptly ended and many of the council members left the room shortly after.

"When he puts a motion on the table, he's supposed to state that motion and not debate the policy," Tripp told WSPA-TV following the meeting. "That's for another time and another committee meeting. When he would not stop, I had it cut his mic off, and then we adjourned because he kept going."

"No one silenced him...We're just going by the rules," Tripp told the local news station.

While speaking with WYFF 4 news in Greenville, Tzouvelekas responded to the incident and said: "He has not been a good leader. I am not going to let him stop me from being able to do the motion that I have forward. It took all of one minute. I have got a right to speak up there just like he does."

Newsweek reached out to both Tzouvelekas and Tripp via email for further comment.