Mayor's Wife Ignores His Public Plea, Gets Arrested

Alton, Ill., Mayor Brant Walker 'embarrassed' after spouse goes out to a bar
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 7, 2020 11:53 AM CDT
One Person Who Ignored Mayor's Plea: His Own Wife
Stock photo of a police car.   (Getty Images/artolympic)

The mayor of Alton, Illinois, maybe should've checked his wife's calendar before ordering police to crack down on gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic. "These are very serious times and I'm begging you to please stay at home," Mayor Brant Walker said Friday in a video posted on the city's Facebook page. He urged police "to use their discretion in issuing citations or making arrests to those refusing to follow the state issued stay-at-home mandate," reports the Alton Telegraph. Police did indeed bust up a gathering at Hiram's Tavern around 1am Sunday, per the Alton Daily News. Everybody was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct—including Walker's wife, Shannon Walker, reports KSDK.

"My wife is an adult capable of making her own decisions, and in this instance, she exhibited a stunning lack of judgment," Walker said in a Monday statement on Facebook, noting he'd told the police chief not to give his wife any special treatment. "I am embarrassed by this incident and apologize to the citizens of Alton," he added. A reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asked for a comment from Shannon "as soon as possible," with the mayor responding, "No further comment." (More coronavirus stories.)

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