Maskless Galveston County woman taken down in viral bank arrest sentenced to 12 days in jail

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Galveston County woman has been sentenced to 12 days in jail after she was convicted in an incident where she refused to wear a mask inside a Bank of America branch earlier this year.

On Thursday, a jury found Terry Wright guilty of trespassing and resisting arrest.
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The videos that were taken during the incident went viral and were a big part of the prosecution's case.

"This is not a case about whether Americans have to wear masks, said District Attorney Jack Roady. "This was a case about respecting private property and preserving the rights of business owners to run their business as they see fit."

The incident occurred back on March 12, just a day after Texas rolled back COVID-19 restrictions, including those mandating face coverings in public. The footage begins with an officer being directed by a bank manager to the woman. The officer encounters the woman who expresses frustration over being told to wear a mask, invoking the state's lifted mandate.

Woman arrested by Galveston PD speaks with Eyewitness News over her confrontation


The officer is then seen telling Wright to go get a mask before returning to take money out.



"What are you going to do? Arrest me?" Wright asked. "That's hilarious."
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The confrontation escalated with Wright raising her voice at other bank customers, and that's when it became physical.

SEE MORE: Maskless woman arrested in Galveston day after mandate lifted

Six days after that incident in Galveston, the same thing happened when she refused to wear a mask inside an Office Depot store in Texas City.

SEE RELATED STORY: Body cam video surfaces of maskless woman's 2nd arrest in Galveston Co.

The conviction is only for the incident at the bank.



Wright has credit for three she has already served and is expected to be released after serving three more days, according to authorities.