A Texas school board candidate was kicked out of an Austin store for refusing to wear a mask — and was then arrested outside as she ranted at police officers, viral video shows.
The incident occurred on April 7 at a Nordstrom Rack, where the woman refused to wear a mask inside and allegedly got physical with employees, according to Jam Press.
The woman, identified later in the video as Kara Bell, allegedly told employees she had a medical exemption to not wear a mask and pushed a worker to get into a dressing room, per the report.
After police arrived, Bell refused to identify herself on multiple occasions. Instead, Bell alleged she was the one assaulted and insinuated she was being singled out for her race.
“It kind of seems like it’s a racist thing when a black woman doesn’t have a mask on but she comes after the white woman,” Bell says in the video. “I mean, that’s the only difference, we’re both women.”
Bell, a local school board candidate, can be seen recording the entire exchange on her phone and attempted to correct the officers on multiple occasions.
She grew more frustrated after the cops revealed her identity, which she claimed they did illegally.
At one point, Bell appears to start walking away before being told she was still detained and was not allowed to leave.
“I am a woman of God,” she says in the clip, which garnered nearly 40,000 likes on Twitter. “This is my right as much as it is yours. This is my land as much as it is yours. I did not sign up for this. I am a Christian woman of God and you are not gonna put your disgusting rules on me that are false and not true. I will not have it. I’m sick of being bullied and I’m sick of being lied to. It’s not going to happen anymore, do you understand?”
WATCH: Maskless Woman On Steroids:
Narrating the entire episode to someone on the phone amid bouts of emphatic head wagging and finger waving, Bell proposes the offending Nordstrom employee was actually racist.
“There was also another woman without a mask — isn’t that interesting how she only picked me? She only picked me, the white person. Not the Black person wearing a mask. Do you think it’s a racist thing? I don’t know.
“We’re not here to talk about race,” the female officer patiently tells her.
“Well you know what? It kinda seems like it’s a racist thing when the Black woman doesn’t have a mask on, but she comes after the white woman.”
Shortly after the tirade, officers began cuffing Bell, who let out a surprised “Oh my gosh.”
Bell was given an assault citation, a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to $500.
She lost her school board campaign in May by a crushing margin, receiving just 24% of the vote.
Social media users were quick to comment on the video, labeling Bell a “Christian Karen,” “Karen on steroids” and a “Covidiot” for the actions preceding her arrest.