North Carolina Judge Charles Gilchrist jailed a prospective juror named Gregory Hahn because he wasn’t wearing a mask.
That’s despite the fact that, according to WRAL-TV, masks aren’t required throughout the courthouse – just in Gilchrist’s courtroom.
“I never thought I would show up to jury duty and end up behind bars. So it happened,” Gregory Hahn told Tucker Carlson on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
According to The New York Post, Hahn is a Navy veteran and a single father. Hahn once “served as a member of the President’s Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery,” reported Fox News.
“It was the worst 24 hours of my life. I was refused to make a phone call to my minor child who is home,” Hahn told Fox News.
Here’s what you need to know:
Hahn Says Gilchrist Jailed Him for 24 Hours
facebookJudge Charles Gilchrist
Hahn described the incident to WRAL-TV.
Hahn, of Harnett County, told the television station that he was in Gilchrist’s courtroom because he was called as a prospective juror.
He ended up in jail without bond because he refused to wear a mask. According to the television station, Gilchrist jailed Hahn for contempt of court.
Gregory Hahn was thrown in jail for refusing to wear a mask during jury duty.
“There were signs saying no masks were required,” Hahn told WRAL News.
“I said, ‘I’m not going to wear a mask,’” Hahn said to the television station. “He said, ‘I understand you don’t want to wear a mask,’ and I said, ‘That is correct, sir,’ and he says ‘why?’” He said he was jailed for 24 hours.
“You can go in any district courtroom without a mask, you can come into superior clerk court without a mask and the [district attorney’s] office without a mask, but with Judge Gilchrist he has a mandate that you must wear a mask,” said Clerk of Superior Court Renee Whittenton to WRAL.
There is no longer a statewide mask mandate in North Carolina, Fox News reported.
“We were in [an assembly room] for about 20 to 30 minutes, shoulder-to-shoulder, with three-quarters of us not wearing masks,” Hahn told Carlson.
“So the virus – if there was virus out there – contaminated us anyway. So I was called when they called roll call, I made eye contact with the clerk, and she said, ‘I need you to come over here for not wearing the mask.’”
Gilchrist, a Democrat, Is a Senior Resident Judge
Charles W. Gilchrist is listed as a “senior resident judge” in North Carolina Superior Court by Bloomberg.
His full name is Winston Charles Gilchrist so he is also known as Winston Gilchrist.
According to Ballotpedia, Judge Gilchrist is “a judge for Judicial District 11A of the North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division. He assumed office in 2012. His current term ends on December 31, 2028.”
What are his politics? He’s a Democrat, according to Ballotpedia, which reports that he “ran for re-election for the Judicial District 11A judge of the North Carolina 3rd Superior Court Division. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.”
Democratic Governor Bev Perdue first appointed Gilchrist to the bench, Ballotpedia reported, adding that he got his law degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.