Photos appear to show the DC Mayor celebrating his masked birthday hours before the mandate goes into effect

Photos on social media appear to show Washington, DC Mayoress Muriel Bowser celebrating her upcoming birthday, posing for photos with comedian Dave Chappelle maskless hours before the city’s masking mandate goes into effect.

“When you asked about the mayor to have the DJ !!! Happy Birthday @mayor_bowser,” read a caption on an Instagram post posted Friday night by user Jeffrey Mercer, accompanied by photos of Bowser and Chappelle attending a party. Bowser’s birthday is on Monday.

Bowser announced a mask mandate in the city on Thursday, saying all residents would have to mask themselves at 5 a.m. on Saturday

DC MAYOR RETURNS MASKING MANDATE FOR INTERIORS

Her office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ requests to comment on the photos or whether the mask mandate went into effect on Saturday so she could celebrate her birthday on Friday.

Bowser had also announced that Chappelle, a native of DC, would be in town this weekend, including a show at the Anthem on Friday.

“DC is open and we are so proud to welcome Dave Chappelle to the home,” said Bowser in a press release on Friday. “Washingtoners have waited months to enjoy shows like this again, and it makes it even better to reopen one of our favorite venues with an appearance from one of the world’s favorite comedians and a DC native Dave Chappelle.”

Meanwhile, her Twitter account posted messages on Friday urging people to mask themselves and “stay together,” and also directed citizens to vaccination and testing centers.

DC MAYOR MADE OWN COVID RESTRICTIONS FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE BIDEN VICTORY SPEECH AND DEFENDING “ESSENTIAL TRAVEL”

Bowser was previously criticized for violating her own coronavirus restrictions in November to take part in President Biden’s election victory speech in Delaware, which was considered a “high risk” coronavirus state at the time. However, her staff defended the trip, saying it was an “essential trip”.