Sara Marie & Andrew Brenner - images courtesy Facebook

Sara Marie Brenner, wife of Ohio State Senator Andrew Brenner (R-19), posted to a public Facebook neighborhood group on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 seeking someone to break Ohio’s quarantine to come to her home to give her a haircut. She knowingly published this post despite local, state and national recommendations to maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

This incident immediately follows Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s order shutting down all spas and salons as a part of his state’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

What’s more, Brenner appears to be fully aware of these recommendations as a professional Twitter account she manages contains a post urging her clients to listen to the CDC and WHO in how to stay safe during the pandemic.

(And this is aside from the fact that – as someone clearly pointed out to her on her own Facebook page before she posted to the Facebook group – having someone cut hair outside of a licensed facility is against the law in Ohio.)

The Social Media Posts

On March 18, 2020, Sara Marie Brenner posted this to the ‘What’s Up in Delaware, OH‘ Facebook group:

In the post, Brenner sought recommendations asking, “Are there any local hair stylists who make home visits?”

This follows a Twitter posting made to her Twitter account a day prior:

In the tweet, Brenner said, “Check out the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization for more information on how to protect your family and yourself.”

Juxtaposing the two social media postings demonstrates Brenner knew her words would be inflammatory and against pandemic recommendations at the time she asked for someone to cut her hair.

Reaction

Members of the Delaware Facebook group reacted immediately to the post calling out Brenner for potentially putting a service industry worker (and her/his family) at risk for a haircut. Here’s a sampling of the comments – and Brenner’s responses:

This comment chain is particularly pertinent as it allegedly sparked State Senator Andrew Brenner to privately message Lowery:

Some additional comments:

The post also received reaction outside of Facebook as well as demonstrated by this post from Ohio attorney Jennifer Nielsen, Esq.:

We’ve reached out to the Brenner family as well as the Ohio Governor’s office for comment but did not receive a response from either before the publication of this article. Should they respond, we’ll provide their statement(s) in an update.

Update – March 23, 2020

While Ohio state Senator Andrew Brenner has not provided an official statement, his wife Sara Marie publicly commented on a separate Facebook neighborhood page about this incident. While the post has since been removed by moderators, we verified the authenticity of the comments with the page’s moderators after collecting screenshots from a member of the page. Here are Brenner’s comments. The original post she shared to the page is still live on her personal Facebook page as of this update.

She said:

So a twit militant progressive basement blogger who’s been stalking me since the Romney campaign (when I wrote for the Washington Times and had a political radio show) has accused me of violating Gov. Mike DeWine’s quarantine order. Hah! 😜 Thanks for the attention, dude — glad I’m so entertaining. 1. I’m not under quarantine, so there was no mandated quarantine for me to have violated. I’m not sick!!! Andrew Brenner is neither sick nor under quarantine, as this liar is reporting. I am staying home, however. I’ve gone out for groceries, to go to the house I just moved out of, and to the bank — that’s pretty much been it. Does walking the dog count? My entire office is working virtually, and we’re cooking meals at home. I’ve gotten to know my new house quite well, thank you. 2. I asked if anyone did haircuts from home or in others’ homes when the governor shut down the cosmetology industry. I asked because my hair is thick and heavy and I was about due for a cut — when it gets too long it gives me neck pain and migraines, which I don’t need while I’m trying to stay healthy and keep away from unhealthy people. I wasn’t aware that it’s against their license to come to someone’s home, so when I learned that, I stopped searching for someone! So no worries- no haircut has transpired, and no stylist violated the terms of her license. 🙄 3. This is stupid. I realize y’all are bored and have nothing else to do; but seriously, get a life. Stay healthy, and don’t be a bunch of divisive jerks to your neighbors. That’s not how we’re going to get through this with our sanity intact (although I do question whether some were sane to begin with 😜). Oh, and PS — you’re welcome to comment on this, but I reserve the right to block and/or delete. I’m not going to allow people to be infantile and untruthful.

Here are screenshots of the post and her responses to comments on that page:

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While he has not provided a statement, state Senator Brenner did comment on his wife’s Facebook post when she was called out by a nurse for her behavior:

Click to Enlarge | Original Comment Thread Link

He said:

She isn’t an elected official, so why are you attacking her? I’m sure you’ve been to the store or gas station in the last week. Maybe even through a drive thru at a restaurant. Guess what? All of those places require a lot of people to work there, thus exposing you and others to the virus. This isn’t a time to attack people. I suggest that you look into the mirror before you cast stones.

To touch on a few points the Brenners made:

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine shut down all spas and salons across the state. It is against the law in Ohio to cut hair (or provide other licensed salon or spa services) outside of a licensed facility, such as in the home of a state senator’s wife.

Going to a drive thru or grocery store is not the same as illegally having someone come to your home to break a state order to cease salon and spa activities across the state. While food is considered an essential service, getting a haircut is not – even if you are the wife of a state level politician.

As pointed out in the post to the Facebook group above, Sara Marie Brenner – rather than present a case for violating the law for a haircut – engaged in racism (using Trump’s favorite Warren attack the Native American community specifically asked people not to use as a slur) and name-calling lacking any better response.

While neither of the Brenners may be under quarantine for showing symptoms, the state of Ohio is actually locked down as a whole with orders from DeWine to ‘shelter in place.’ That is a quarantine. His order only allows exceptions for “[those] seeking health services, shopping for necessary supplies and services and limited outdoor activity.” (And that’s aside from the fact that one of the main features of COVID-19 that makes it so dangerous is being contagious well before any symptoms appear.)

While she isn’t an elected official, Sara Marie Brenner is the wife of a state senator. That comes with a level of responsibility with such things as making public statements on and off of social media. While it may not come as a shock, Sara Marie Brenner spent a large chunk of the Obama presidency relentlessly attacking Michelle Obama (using her now-defunct conservative news platform). While Michelle Obama may not have been the president (just as Brenner is not the state senator), Michelle Obama’s words and actions were still the subject of criticism from opposing political viewpoints, particularly when she said or did something viewed as wrong.

Peacock Panache readers:

Tim Peacock is the Managing Editor and founder of Peacock Panache and has worked as a civil rights advocate for over twenty years. During that time he’s worn several hats including leading on campus LGBTQ advocacy in the University of Missouri campus system, interning with the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and volunteering at advocacy organizations. You can learn more about him at his personal website.

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