Skylar Mack gets support tweet from Eric Trump as ‘hysterical’ college teen is jailed in Cayman Islands over Covid rules
SKYLAR Mack has received a boost from Eric Trump as the “hysterical” college teenager is jailed on Cayman Islands for Covid rule breaking.
Mack, 18, breached her quarantine after just two days in the Caribbean island to watch her boyfriend, Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, in a jet ski competition.
The couple were sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday morning, after the Cayman Islands’ Director of Public Prosecutions Patrick Moran appealed their original sentence.
Following the news of the appeal, the president’s 36-year-old son, Eric, shared his anger at the incarceration.
“This is infuriating. Skylar is an 18 year old girl who left her hotel to watch her boyfriend compete in a jet ski competition… 4 months in jail?!” he tweeted.
The middle-Trump son also shared the hashtag of “FreeSkylar.”
The couple both pleaded guilty, but their attorney, Jonathon Hughes, said he will argue for a less severe sentence next week.
“They’re two young people who have never been in trouble before,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
“This is the first time they’ve had interaction with police, the courts, prison.”
Initially, Mack and Ramgeet were each handed a $2,600 fine and 40 hours of community service.
Mack, a student from Loganville, Georgia, arrived in the Cayman Islands on November 27.
On November 29, Mack took off her geo-fencing bracelet and left her residence to see Ramgeet compete.
Mack and Ramgeet reportedly came in contact with other people at the event over a span of more than seven hours and did not wear masks or practice social distancing.
After getting arrested, the couple stayed at a government quarantine facility for 14 days, ending on Tuesday.
Ramgeet was charged with aiding and abetting Mack.
Moran appealed the couple’s original sentence because he believed the offenses “should have been met with far more stringent measures,” according to the Cayman Compass.
“When it comes to a matter of deterrence, the sentences imposed are likely to have little to no effect on other like-minded individuals,” Moran told the Grand Court on Monday.
The couples’ lawyer, Jonathan Hughes, argued that the sentences were too harsh and that their offenses were owed to “youthful ignorance and selfishness.”
“There is no way that it can be right that a custodial sentence is imposed for a first-time offense on an 18-year-old defendant, who entered an early guilty plea,” Hughes told the Cayman Compass.
Hughes added that Mack fully paid her fine from her savings.
“She has received hate mail, so far as to say even death threats,” Hughes said.
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“This has even impacted her father, who is also a professional jet-ski rider and has now lost sponsorship because of it.”
Mack wrote in a statement to the Compass: “I am aware that the Cayman Islands Government has done nothing but dedicate extreme caution to combat the spread of COVID-19, for this the country and its citizens can be extremely proud.
“I made a mistake, and words cannot express how sorry I am for this… I was afforded the opportunity to enter the islands during these trying times and I abused it. I am humbly asking for the forgiveness of the community.”