Request to block public transportation mask mandate rejected by Justice Clarence Thomas

SALT LAKE CITY — Justice Clarence Thomas has rejected a request to block the Biden administration’s Covid-19 public transportation mask mandate. According to CNN, Thomas denied the request for a Supreme Court intervention without any additional explanation.

This request started with a man seeking to leave Florida by airplane, who claimed his anxiety disorder prevented him from wearing a mask. As a fully vaccinated individual, he claimed federal agencies have overstepped their authority by mandating masks. 

The Supreme Court was willing to disrupt the mask mandate for events like religious gatherings. But Thomas was not willing to disturb the public transportation mask mandate.  

According to CNN, the request was filed with the Supreme Court on Monday by Lucas Wall, who was unable to board a flight last month from Orlando because of his unwillingness to wear a mask. His court documents said due to the mask mandate, he has since been “stranded” at his mother’s residence in The Villages, a retirement community in central Florida.

CNN reported Wall said that that the federal mask requirement for travel would prevent him from taking a flight he planned to Germany later this week.