A video of Representative Rashida Tlaib dancing at a wedding without a mask has now been viewed more than 480,000 times on Twitter after it was initially shared on Instagram.
Tlaib, a Democrat who represents Michigan’s 13th district and a member of the progressive “Squad,” was captured on video by Bassam Saleh, a band based in Dearborn, Michigan.
The band shared the video to its Instagram stories and the footage was later shared on Twitter by Robbie Starbuck, who is running for the House of Representatives in Tennessee’s 5th district.
Starbuck’s video had been viewed more than 480,000 times by the time of writing on Tuesday morning.
The video shows Tlaib dancing at a wedding with several people without a face mask. The video is also overlaid with text that reads: “Our congress women Rashida tlaib.”
Other people in the video who are dancing with Tlaib are also not wearing face coverings. The congresswoman is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The original video is no longer available on Bassam Saleh’s Instagram account as videos and photos posted to a user’s stories disappear after 24 hours. However, a separate post showing a photo from the wedding on August 8 identified the wedding venue as the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
The center is in Dearborn in Michigan’s Wayne County. Michigan’s 13th district is based in Wayne County. That county is currently classified as having a “substantial” rate of community transmission of COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib partied last night with 100+ maskless people. Dems want your kids stuck in masks at school ALL DAY while they party maskless with their friends. Do not comply! Don’t give 1 more inch. In 2022 we WILL defeat the tyrants! Chip in: https://t.co/FGvUL6PziQ pic.twitter.com/6lg71dtv2f
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 9, 2021
Wearing face coverings in indoor public spaces is currently recommended in Wayne County and local officials on Friday urged people to follow that advice, according to the Detroit News. The warning comes amid a 60 percent increase in cases in the county over the last two weeks, excluding Detroit.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said: “We cannot afford to let our guard down against COVID.”
“We don’t have community protection against the virus because too many residents remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant, wearing masks indoors again is necessary to keep people safe, especially children and individuals who are medically unable to get vaccinated,” Evans said.
The CDC also recently updated its advice and is urging fully vaccinated people to “[w]ear a mask in public indoor settings if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission.”
According to the CDC, 57.6 percent of people over the age of 18 in Wayne County have received at least one vaccine dose, while 52.6 percent of those over 18 are fully vaccinated.
Newsweek has asked Representative Tlaib for comment.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
