U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams pleaded not guilty Monday to violating a ban on visiting state parks during an August trip to Hawaii where he was working with state officials to control the spread of the coronavirus, ABC News reports.
Adams and his aide, Dennis Anderson-Villaluz, were found by a Honolulu police officer on Kualoa Regional Park, which had been closed to the public by the governor to prevent large gatherings in an effort to stop transmission of the virus. Adams was taking photos of the picturesque beach.
Neither Adams and Anderson-Villaluz attended the hearing, instead sending lawyers to represent them in the court proceeding.
“It’s an embarrassment to the state,” Adams’ Honolulu defense attorney, Michael Green, said after Monday’s hearing. “They’re treating him like he brought the pandemic here.”
In fact, the police and courts were treating Adams and Anderson-Villaluz like the citizens they are, subject to the laws of the municipality and not exempt from the laws because of their positions.