UPDATE: Justice Clarence Thomas has denied an emergency motion to set aside the federal mask mandate on airplanes without comment, likely ending Lucas Wall’s proposed trip to Germany.
44-year-old Wall, who lives at his mother’s house in a retirement community in Florida, says he cannot wear a mask due to an anxiety disorder, yet never presented evidence that he had reached out to the airline he was flying to Germany to seek an exception. The mask mandate requires such exceptions for demonstrated cases of disability.
In refusing to take the case before the entire Court, even conservative Thomas expressed an unwillingness to overturn the mask mandate less than two months before it is set to expire.
I love JetBlue’s response to his lawsuit:
“Mr Wall cites that he needs emergency relief from this Court because, otherwise, he will be ‘stranded at his mother’s house. Plaintiff’s procrastination is not an emergency.”
Even if Wall had miraculously convinced the Supreme Court to overturn the mask mandate, that would not have applied to Germany, where strict mask rules remain in effect across most German states.
The original story appears below.
A frequent flyer currently living in his mother’s home in a Florida retirement community has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for an immediate injunction against the federal mask mandate on airplanes ahead of his proposed trip to Germany.
Man Asks Supreme Court To Lift Federal Mask Mandate On Airplanes
Lucas Wall has sued seven airlines, President Biden, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over the federal mask mandate, which he says has left him trapped at his mother’s house in Florida and unable to fly. Thus far, every court has dismissed his cases.
The anti-masker claims a disability, stating he cannot wear a mask due to an anxiety disorder.
His latest attempt is to the U.S. Supreme Court, in which he has asked for relief by Friday so he can travel to Germany on Saturday:
“I respectfully ask for relief no later than Friday, July 16, because I have a flight booked to Germany on Saturday, July 17, to visit my brother and his wife.”
While Wall has not exhausted his appeal process, his direct application to the Supreme Court is based on a premise that “irreparable harm” will occur if the Court does not quickly act.
I tend to doubt being stuck in your mother’s guest room and having a $769.89 flight to Germany convert to a flight credit rises to “irreparable harm.”
Wall filed the lawsuit in Orlando, which is part of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, meaning his application for writ will go to Justice Clarence Thomas, the most conservative member of the Court by several metrics. It is now up to Justice Thomas to decide whether to bring Wall’s plea to the full Court.
Although Thomas has expressed misgivings in the past about the extent of Congressional authority over commerce, the limited scope and duration of the mask mandate means even the most skeptical conservative will likely deny Wall’s motion.
CONCLUSION
If Wall were smart, he’d just play up the disability a little better, be granted an exception, and could be on his happy way to Germany. Instead, he’s a misguided ideological warrior and wants to be the man who topped the mask mandate. But I predict even the most skeptical conservative on the High Court is highly likely to deny Wall’s motion.
> Read More: Frequent Flyer Sues Seven Airlines For “Mask Discrimination”
Did he have a chance to look up German mask mandates (N95 or Surgical basically everywhere)? So even on the almost impossible chance this is granted he will still have to wear a mask in Germany. I wonder if he has thought this through and hope his brother is smart enough to inform him of the German mask mandates prior to arrival, as the Germans are not as accommodating to those not wearing masks in public in violation of mandates as the Americans are.
I look forward to his further complaint that the US Supreme Court invalidate the German mask mandates
Title should be changed to “Florida Man Petitions….”
I think you missed the most important part of the whole crazy story. Even if he got his relief from the supreme court which he wont that doesn’t apply in another country so he would still be required to wear a mask once he landed and most places overseas are not as liberal with their exceptions as they are in the US.
Look forward to the follow up story of crazed man arrested at German airport for refusing to wear mask because US supreme court said he didnt have to.
You can’t vaccinate against stupidity, unfortunately.
There are so many things wrong with this scenario. Flying is not a right. It is a privilege. An airplane is just like a restaurant or any other business where you can be denied service if you don’t follow the rules. I understand that masks are a PITA. I’m vaccinated, and I don’t want to wear them either. But I do because 1) my kids can’t get vaccinated yet, 2) there are still too many unvaccinated people around, and 3) it is the law in the U.S. and numerous other countries (like Germany, where he wants to travel to).
Fearing for your children’s safety with regard to COVID-19 is overblown. Innumeracy is a yuge problem. If you live in fear after having been vaccinated, you might as well be an anti-vaxxer.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57766717
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00066-3/fulltext
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/25/997467734/childrens-risk-of-serious-illness-from-covid-19-is-as-low-as-it-is-for-the-flu
Caution and concern are not “fear”.
Alarmist framing like yours seems intent on shaming the prior commenter and those like them who accommodate reasonable efforts taken to provide an increase in peace of mind, relying on efforts that have minimal impact on convenience for the wearer and with NO inconvenience on others.
He is a misinformation-spreading anti-masker, and emblematic of a distinct segment of the US that is allowing the Delta variant to flourish
Out of well over 100 million estimated SARS-CoV-2 infections in the US (the last CDC estimate I found was 114.6 million as of April 14, 2021), how many children do you think have died? 10,000? 1,000? Try 335. If you are changing your behavior and instilling fear over that kind of risk, you are an innumerate fool and doing real harm to your children. Far more children die in car crashes. Are you going to stop driving? Think of the children! Never mind lurning. We can’t open our schools and risk even one child dying! Keep your kids out of school. Leave society. Your attitude is poisonous. I have firsthand knowledge that the pediatric ward of my local blue-state hospital is filled with suicide attempts. It must have been the Bad Orange Man who drove them to suicide, though, right?
As for UA-TDS, he calls me a liar, but never actually points out what I have lied about. I always back up my assertions with data from sources even hysterical leftists would have to accept. People should be free to wear masks if they feel unsafe, but the source of that feeling should be addressed and it is not always reasonable to be fearful. Imposing that fear upon others, however, is unacceptable.
You truly are an effing moron. Car crashes, as has been noted hundreds of times against idiotic Right-wing fools like you, aren’t transmissible.
You also obfuscate the issue by only focusing on deaths; ~25% of C19 sufferers also develop long-haul symptoms (be it kid or adult).
Keep trying to outrun Delta, anti-vaxxer chump.
How many times do I need to post studies of obesity as being socially contagious? The very fact that this pandemic was as severe as it was demonstrates what a YUGE problem obesity is. If you cared about black folx, you’d recognize the need to combat obesity since COVID-19 is killing fat people and blacks tend to be fatter than other folx.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/07/obesity-is-contagious/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5124998/
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/02/should-we-treat-obesity-contagious-disease
As for long COVID, even the widely read article on it in the Atlantic notes that 2/3rds of those complaining about it tested negative for antibodies. Could it be that lockdowns and non-stop pandemic alarmism drove feeble-minded folx mad? Perhaps the box jumper gets his health news from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow.
https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/22/we-need-to-start-thinking-more-critically-speaking-cautiously-long-covid/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dubious-origins-of-long-covid-11616452583
https://www.verywellmind.com/gwyneth-paltrow-covid-diagnosis-5113240
I have no fear of the virus. Keep living scared, racist. Jump that rage out of yourself!
Wait…You really mean to tell me that you wear a mask in front of your kids all the time? At home?
If one doesn’t like to wear masks, there are ways to make it feel like you’re not wearing a mask. One way is a tie on surgical mask that is tied very loosely. I don’t recommend wearing a mask that way but it’s easier to do so and fly to Germany than sue.
I am still wearing N95 masks. Vaccines are not foolproof. A few vaccinated people have died from Covid-19 but not too many. N95 masks worn into a store isn’t that uncomfortable. As soon as you leave the store, you can rip the N95 mask off and wear a less tight mask outside.
A mask outside? Please seek psychiatric help. You are in dire need.
He should be happy, at least there’s no mask mandate for his emotional support miniature horse. A mask is just another article of clothing. Mask deniers based on “anxiety” are every bit as f–king nuts as those who have unique strange “emotional support” animals.
(Doctor goes for an interview & tour at the local psychiatric hospital. During the tour the doctor is taken to the isolation ward. Looks through the small round window of the door to one room and sees someone yelling and screaming and throwing him/herself against the walls. Asks the interviewing doctor “what’s the diagnosis for this patient?”. Is told “severe mania, we’ve tried every medication, nothing works”. Next room the doctor looks into has a person sitting on the floor not moving at all, only way to tell if the patient is alive is by seeing their chest move with breathing, asks “what’s the diagnosis?” Is told “severely catatonic, nothing has worked”. Next room he looks into has man sitting on the floor holding a gigantic walnut in each hand and constantly banging the walnuts against his penis, asks “what’s the diagnosis?” Is told “ah, he’s f–king nuts”.)
I wonder if he has any objection to the testing requirement upon return.
Is this the same guy:
https://law.justia.com/cases/district-of-columbia/court-of-appeals/2014/12-cv-107.html
Obviously not a precedent, but the ruling in Spain…effectively declaring lockdowns and other restrictions unconstitutional ( and opening the prospect of fines needed to be refunded)…will give comfort to those making similar challenges elsewhere.
Mr Wall does indeed have a disability. He is STILL breastfeeding at 44 years of age!!! What a simp!!!! It’s sick out there and getting sicker folks!!!
I’m not a fan of the mask mandates (particularly the federal one), but also respect the airlines’ right to implement one on their own aircraft/premises. All that said, this guy is a wingnut. His case lacks merit and his argument is absurd. In fact, I am astonished that such a piece of dreck would even make it as far as the desk of a Supreme Court justice.
Overturning a Federal mask mandate requires a much more compelling a legally intricate argument that this – which sounds like it comes from a 3rd grader. Not to mention that, even if the mandate is overturned, the airlines will require masks anyhow. You might get a break at some airports, but I don’t see any of the airlines dropping mask requirements any time soon.
The liberal Supreme Court strikes again! Gosh darn liberals trying to control everyone with these masks and vaccines! Why can’t we have freedom?
Ironic given that it’s a 6-3 Conservative lean and all