Two sheriff’s deputies threatened to arrest a Louisville woman today when she attempted to enter the Oldham County Courthouse without a mask on to attend a hearing in a case that began in September 2020 when a shooting range had her charged with trespassing for asserting her right to a disability exemption from its mask policy.

Shannon Greer went into the courthouse lobby with her husband, Eric, for her 2 p.m. hearing before Judge Brittney McKenna on her motion to dismiss the three charges against her stemming from the Sept. 12, 2020, incident at Openrange Gun Range in Crestwood. A video Greer posted to YouTube shows Eric entering first and placing a mask on. Shannon then enters the building and its immediately told by an Oldham County sheriff’s deputy “You have to put a mask on mam.”

A federal judge today instructed American Airlines and Southwest Airlines to issue a 4-year-old Florida boy who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder a letter by 5 p.m. today exempting him from having to a wear a mask while traveling for the next 30 days until more in-depth court proceedings can be held. It’s the largest victory so far for a coalition of disabled Americans who have been battling the airlines in courts for more than eight months regarding their illegal mask policies.

U.S. District Judge Patti Saris scheduled an emergency hearing for this morning after the two carriers and the government refused to grant a mask exemption to Michael Seklecki Jr. of Sanford, Florida, who must travel to Boston regularly for specialized medical care at Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. During the brief proceeding today, she directed Roy Goldberg, counsel for American and Southwest, to issue Seklecki’s father, Michael Sr., a mask-exemption letter valid for 30 days on both airlines.

A federal judge today ordered American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention to appear at an emergency hearing at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after the two carriers and the government refused to grant a mask exemption to a 4-year-old Florida boy who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder and must fly Feb. 22 to Boston for important specialized medical treatment.

U.S. District Judge Patti Saris held an initial hearing Feb. 11 regarding the lawsuit filed by Michael Seklecki Sr. on behalf of himself and his son, Michael Jr., demanding they both be granted mask exemptions and that CDC’s Federal Transportation Mask Mandate be struck down as illegal and unconstitutional. Saris ordered lawyers for American and Southwest to resolve Michael Jr.’s exemption outside of court and report back by today. However, the two airlines still refuse to approve the boy’s medical waiver.

A frequent flyer suing the federal government and seven airlines attacking the legality of the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate and the carriers’ unlawful mask discrimination asked the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida today to terminate its requirement that anyone entering a courthouse cover their face.

Plaintiff Lucas Wall, 45, of Washington, D.C., has been stranded in Florida since he was denied the ability to board a flight June 2, 2021, because of the FTMM and airlines’ discrimination against Americans who medically can’t tolerate having their breathing obstructed. He first filed a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention seeking to vacate the FTMM, then later in June 2021 brought a second case against Southwest, Alaska, Allegiant, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit for refusing to grant medical exemptions to the disabled. In the second suit, Wall is part of a group of 12 disabled flyers pursuing a class action against the seven airlines for unlawfully discriminating against those with disabling medical conditions.

A 4-year-old Florida boy who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder and has been restricted from flying during the COVID-19 pandemic because he medically can’t wear a face mask filed suit Friday in Boston, Massachusetts, demanding $400,000 in damages from American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Michael Seklecki Jr. and his dad, Michael Sr., are also asking a federal judge to vacate the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Federal Transportation Mask Mandate, which marks its first anniversary Feb. 1.

Michael Sr. and Michael Jr. of Sanford, Florida, have been denied medical exemptions by the two airlines. They have also have been banned by Frontier Airlines and harassed by Spirit Airlines because Michael Jr. can’t wear a mask. Delta Air Lines is the only carrier that has accommodated Michael Jr.’s disability with a mask waiver, but it refuses to give Michael Sr. an exception. Delta, Frontier, and Spirit are not named in the lawsuit due to settlement talks outside of court regarding the Sekleckis’ discrimination complaints, but Michael Sr. said they might be added to the case later.

A Kentucky man who must fly to California and back for work every 12 days filed suit today against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention to block the agency’s Federal Transportation Mask Mandate, which has been in effect for nearly a year. The lawsuit also demands nearly $2.2 million in damages from American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines for refusing his medical exemption on numerous flights as part of a conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of the disabled.

Michael Faris, 35, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, medically can’t tolerate wearing a face mask. Faris fainted July 20, 2021, while forced to obstruct his breathing on an American flight from Louisville to Dallas and again Oct. 21, 2021, while in the jetway attempting to board a United flight from Ontario, California, to Denver. United refused to allow him on board. Faris rebooked with American, who then banned him from the airline for requesting a mask exemption at the check-in counter. JetBlue and Southwest also banned Faris when he applied for mask exemptions, canceling his tickets without his consent.

This case is believed to be the first in the nation to challenge CDC’s mask mandate and airlines’ discriminatory policies regarding face coverings in the same lawsuit.