Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was caught maskless at a New York City restaurant storming past the manager and a sign telling customers that masks were required.
The owner of Innovo Kitchen expressed her frustration on the restaurant's Instagram page, sharing a video of Gillibrand "blowing past" a manager and saying that the incident exemplifies New York politics.
"The problem with NY politics in a nut shell. My Senator blowing past my manager before she can even ask her to put a mask on. Walking right past a really big sign that says 'masks required to enter,'" the post read.
"The masks are a mandate from the Governor. As good citizens, agree or not, we must follow our leaders. Her guest is graciously wearing one. I guess Senator Gillibrand thinks that the Governor is wrong or she is special and above the rules," it continued.
When asked about her maskless endeavor, Gillibrand said that she plans to "do better" in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
"We all need to do our part to help stop the spread of Omicron and that means following state and local guidance," Gillibrand told Fox News Digital. "That includes me and I will do better going forward."
Gillibrand has been a vocal supporter of Americans getting vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 amid the recent uptick in cases caused by the highly infectious omicron variant.
"Omicron is more contagious — but if you're vaccinated and boosted, you are far less likely to get seriously ill and need hospital care," she said in a tweet. "Protect yourself and help ease the strain on hospitals and health care workers. Get vaccinated and boosted."