In May 2020, as a deadly pandemic raged across the world, Steve Toth decided he needed a haircut — and he was willing to go to jail over it.
The state representative from The Woodlands, a conservative Houston suburb, went to Tune Up: The Manly Salon, donned a barber cape and called the press. The state had forced all non-essential businesses to shut their doors to stem the spread of COVID-19, prompting outrage and legal battles from small business owners, and Toth had had enough. The haircut, he said at the time, was less about split ends and more about sending a message to Gov. Greg Abbott.
