House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy shares video of himself attending son's maskless wedding which flouted COVID rules just HOURS after he slammed Gov. Gavin Newsom's French Laundry visit
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has shared a video of himself attending his son's maskless wedding in California just hours after the Republican slammed Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom over his infamous French Laundry visit.
The lawmaker inadvertently exposed his own flouting of coronavirus safety guidelines when he posted footage on his Instagram on Saturday of his son Connor Owen McCarthy marrying Emily Ann Morris at the luxury Cass House venue in Cayucos, in San Luis Obispo County, on December 5.
Footage of the wedding day shows the couple exchanging their vows outside in front of a small group of people, with neither the bride or groom, their guests - including McCarthy - nor the registrar wearing face masks.
It also shows a wedding invite which reads 'Celebration to follow' after the 3pm ceremony.
At the time of the nuptials, new COVID-19 cases were averaging around 19,000 each day in the Golden State and healthcare systems were on the brink of collapse with ICU beds in increasingly short supply.
Masks were required to be worn during wedding ceremonies while wedding receptions or celebrations - both outdoor or indoor - were banned altogether.
On the same day as the wedding, the state's stay-at-home order went into effect which within days had plunged much of California into lockdown.
Under the order, all gatherings of any size were banned in regions with less than 15 percent of ICU beds available.
San Luis Obispo County had fallen below this 15 percent threshold on December 4 - the day before the wedding - and the region of Southern California it resides in was plunged into lockdown December 6.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has shared a video of himself (above) attending his son's maskless wedding in California just hours after the Republican slammed Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom over his infamous French Laundry visit
The lawmaker inadvertently exposed his own flouting of coronavirus safety guidelines when he posted footage on his Instagram on Saturday of his son Connor Owen McCarthy marrying Emily Ann Morris at the luxury Cass House venue in Cayucos, in San Luis Obispo County, on December 5
The wedding video was first shared by the professional videographer back in December but was brought to attention by the Los Angeles Times this week after McCarthy posted it online.
The footage shows the lawmaker sitting maskless in the front row of chairs during the ceremony.
It shows two rows of chairs either side of the aisle with just three seats each, though a couple of the chairs appear to be empty.
The bride and groom, two bridesmaids and the registrar are seen at a bandstand.
McCarthy has since said the day was attended by 13 people.
The footage also shows a maskless McCarthy using a microphone at one point in the celebration and at another point hugging his son indoors in what appears to be a bedroom.
The bride is also seen having her hair done indoors without a mask while the stylist is wearing a mask.
Throughout the video, McCarthy and none of the rest of the wedding party are seen wearing masks inside or outside.
The footage also shows a maskless McCarthy using a microphone at one point in the celebration. At the time of the nuptials, masks were required to be worn during wedding ceremonies while wedding receptions or celebrations - both outdoor or indoor - were banned altogether
At another point hugging his son indoors. On the same day as the wedding, the state's stay-at-home order went into effect. San Luis Obispo County went into lockdown December 6
The wedding appeared to break the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time, as cases, hospitalizations and deaths surged to record levels in the state.
While outdoor weddings were permitted in San Luis Obispo County at the time, people were required to wear masks and all receptions or celebrations following the ceremony were banned.
Traci Hozie, owner of the Cass House, told the Times a 'family dinner' took place after the ceremony in a covered outdoor pavilion with screens on the sides.
Meanwhile the caterer Eric Connolly, who owns the Hatch Rotisserie & Bar, said food was served outdoors and described it as a 'pretty well-run, COVID-conscious event'.
The day of the wedding, California's regional stay-at-home order went into effect.
The order divided the state into five regions - Northern California, San Joaquin Valley, Greater Sacramento, Southern California and the Bay Area - and ruled that regions would go into lockdown when they had less than 15 percent of intensive care unit beds available.
Newsom announced the lockdown on December 3 - two days prior to the wedding - and said four of the regions were on track to hit the threshold within a few days and the fifth - the Bay Area - would meet it by the middle of the month.
The same day, San Luis Obispo County health officials urged people to stay home and not 'mix' or 'mingle' outside their households.
Traci Hozie, owner of the Cass House (pictured), told the Times a 'family dinner' took place after the ceremony in a covered outdoor pavilion with screens on the sides
'Don't mix. Don't mingle. Keep your activities limited to your household, to one or two other families, if you must,' said Dr. Penny Borenstein, the county health officer.
Within 24 hours of the nuptials, on December 6 the county went into lockdown and all gatherings were banned.
McCarthy's flouting of the state's COVID-19 restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the deadly virus comes as after he was a vocal critic of other lawmakers bending the rules.
Just hours before the 3pm wedding ceremony kicked off, the House Minority Leader made a thinly-veiled attack at Newsom over his notorious dinner at the French Laundry restaurant.
'For months, House Democrats have used an unconstitutional scheme to allow members to vote from home. It's called shadow voting. Maybe if we renamed Congress 'The French Laundry,' Democrats would show up,' McCarthy said in a video he uploaded to Facebook that morning.
Newsom faced a backlash for dining at the restaurant in a group of 12 on November 6 in a partially enclosed room at a time when he had hit out at Californians for 'letting their guard down' and issued strict Thanksgiving rules.
Newsom apologized when the photos surfaced the following week.
Just hours before the wedding, McCarthy made a thinly-veiled attack at Newsom over his notorious dinner at the French Laundry restaurant on November 6 (pictured)
McCarthy also slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she was caught on camera having getting a wash and blowout at a San Francisco hair salon on September 1 (pictured)
He insisted the dinner was outdoors and that he didn't realize the group attending was the size it was until he arrived.
He apologized saying he had made a 'bad mistake' and promised to 'own it' and move forward.
McCarthy also slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she was caught on camera having getting a wash and blowout at a San Francisco hair salon on September 1.
Pelosi was not wearing a mask and, at the time, salons were still closed due to the pandemic.
McCarthy blasted the Democrat at the time saying: 'Nancy Pelosi doesn't think the rules apply to her. She thinks she deserves special treatment.'
The Republican has also often urged Americans to wear masks.
McCarthy defended his attendance at his son's wedding in a statement to the Times claiming 'every precaution' was taken to make the event as safe as possible and that they all wore masks indoors.
He said the original ceremony was supposed to be before '300 or so family and friends' but due to the pandemic, the couple went ahead with just a 'small group of family' in attendance.
'We took every precaution to ensure a safe celebration — starting with just 13 family members. We spent the majority of the time outside with the dinner following the ceremony in an almost completely open area,' he said.
'We wore masks indoors that day, except in those instances where some had to let makeup dry or when we were eating. We were respectful of the event staff and each other — on the day of the event and the lead-up as well.'
McCarthy showed no regret for attending the celebration at the height of the pandemic saying 'you better believe' he would do the same thing again.
'Did our families get close to one another? Of course. Did we feel safe? Of course. Would I celebrate this beautiful day on December 5, 2020 again. You better believe it,' he said.
The lawmaker went on to take aim at the state's lockdown rules which he said 'have been devastating to families, small businesses, and communities.'
'For months, I have joined my constituents in calling to end the dangerous and arbitrary lockdown orders from Sacramento. It was fortunate their wedding was on December 5th, one day before the state’s most recent aggressive lockdown was set to begin with no rules coming forward,' the statement read.
He also hit out at the Times for 'obsessing over things like this' and accused the outlet of 'target[ing] my family.'
'I won’t let the L.A. Times intimidate me, my family, or any Californian who works hard and lives their life as they think is best,' he said.
In California, more than 45,000 people have died from the virus and almost 3.4 million cases have been confirmed.
More than 471,000 Americans have died since the pandemic began and 27.2 million have been infected.
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