Protesters hang hair dryers on tree outside Pelosi's house amid salon uproar

A group of women held a protest outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) San Francisco home on Thursday, stringing a tree outside with hair dryers and chanting about freedom as the Democrat faces backlash for being busted in a salon in violation of the city's coronavirus restrictions while citizens are prohibited from doing so.

What are the details?

In footage taken by local CBS affiliate KPIX-TV, the demonstrators can be seen hanging blow dryers, an American flag, and other adornments from the tree to create their display. Some of them wore rollers in their hair, and one can be heard declaring, "It's a freedom tree, everybody!"

KPIX producer Bobby Tooke posted the footage on Twitter, reporting, "Protestors gather outside of @SpeakerPelosi house in #SanFrancisco. They chant about freedom and place hair dryers on a tree."

Another clip of the protest shared by the San Francisco Chronicle shows a demonstrator telling the group, ..."To gather, to make sure everybody has an opportunity to earn a living and feed their families." The women then cheer and another adds, "The government needs to stay out of it."

Reporter Jessica Christian tweeted, "None of these demonstrators in front of Nancy Pelosi's home are salon owners or workers. They've all described themselves 'angry salon customers' who want to get their hair and nails done."

Pelosi was caught visiting eSalon in San Francisco on Monday during an appointment solicited by her assistant with a stylist who rents a chair from the salon that has been shut down for months due to the city's stringent coronavirus regulations. The owner of eSalon, Erica Kious, called Pelosi's actions a "slap in the face," saying her business would likely not survive due to local regulations imposed by Democratic leaders.

The speaker's salon visit — which was first reported by Fox News — drew widespread backlash, but Pelosi was defiant when asked about it on Wednesday, blaming the salon and calling for them to apologize to her.

"I take responsibility for trusting the word of the neighborhood salon that I've been to over the years many times," Pelosi told reporters. "And that when they said 'We're able to accommodate people one person at a time' and that we can set up that time, I trusted that. As it turns out, it was a setup, so I take responsibility for falling for a setup."

She insisted, "I think that this salon owes me an apology, for setting [me] up."