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The state of Florida and a group of downtown Jacksonville, Florida business owners have filed a lawsuit against the city, the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, calling an upcoming convention a “public nuisance.”
The plaintiffs say that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gathering of thousands of people from around the United States “under the circumstances and practices encouraged and required by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and it’s [sic] leadership” would constitute “a nuisance injurious to the health, welfare and property rights” of the plaintiffs and the Jacksonville community.
Therefore, the plaintiffs are asking that the Court bar the RNC from using properties and public areas in Jacksonville for the Republican National Convention.
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 125,000 people in the U.S. since March, the complaint says. The RNC lawsuit points to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on preventing the spread of COVID-19, which includes measures such as social distancing, even for people who are not symptomatic.
Jacksonville authorities originally required strict adherence to these practices, and as a result, the city’s morbidity rate from the disease was relatively low compared with the rest of the state, the lawsuit says. However, in late May and early June, the restrictions were loosened and the number of infections in Jacksonville began to rise.
“To avoid community spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health and welfare of Plaintiffs and the community, it is necessary and essential that all super spreader events where large numbers of people congregate in close proximity indoors not occur,” the RNC lawsuit says.
The convention is set to be held at the VyStar Veterans Arena from Aug. 24 through 27, according to the Miami Herald. The arena has a capacity of 15,000 people, the lawsuit says.
The arena is situated in a predominantly Black area that is also home to many older individuals, populations that CDC data shows are more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, the RNC lawsuit says. Jacksonville’s largest homeless residential center is also nearby.
“Unless restricted by the Court,” the complaint contends, “the congregation of thousands of people in close proximity for extended periods of time will constitute a nuisance and result in massive spread of COVID-19” throughout those in attendance, as well as in Jacksonville and northeast Florida.
The lawsuit says the convention will interfere with the plaintiffs’ “use and enjoyment of their property and right to be free of infliction of disease and death.”
Among the plaintiffs are Tad Delegal, an attorney whose business is near the arena; Curtis Booker, pastor at God’s Way of Living International Church; and Dana Miller, operator of Man Cave Barber Shop, according to Jacksonville Business Journal.
In the complaint, Delegal says he has seen several family members suffering from COVID-19 and is “acutely aware of the danger of exposure” to the disease.
Booker, who says many in his congregation are elderly, claims he will not be able to conduct his ministry before, during and immediately after the convention while a large number of visitors are in the neighborhood.
Miller says he would normally expect Republican National Convention attendees to actually take advantage of his services, according to the lawsuit. However, because convention attendees “pose a high risk of exposure to COVID-19,” Miller will be required to close his shop and lose money to protect himself and his customers.
“The standard practice and example of the leadership of Defendant RNC and the nominees of the Republican Party for President and Vice President of the United States is to eschew safe COVID-19 health practices,” the complaint says.
The Republican National Committee lawsuit points out Trump’s refusal to wear a mask even in jurisdictions and venues that require it, as well as Vice President Mike Pence’s photo opportunities with campaign workers in which social distancing is not practiced.
While Jacksonville recently began requiring face masks in public and indoor locations, officials have not decided whether to require masks during the convention, according to USA Today. The RNC backed out of its previously chosen convention location of Charlotte, N.C., last month after the governor and Charlotte mayor wouldn’t commit to allowing a full convention due to the pandemic.
The plaintiffs are asking the Court to take several measures:
- To close the arena or, if allowing it to open, restrict its capacity to 2,500 people to allow for social distancing;
- To require the wearing of face masks and social distancing, and to require anyone not following these guidelines to be removed from the arena;
- To order the defendants to disinfect all surfaces in the arena touched by attendees or others;
- To require the defendants to provide hand sanitizer and personal disinfectant at all entrances and exits and strategic locations throughout the arena;
- To require sufficient signage promoting practices such as social distancing and mask wearing;
- To require the defendants to establish protocols for identifying and tracking attendees who may have been exposed to COVID-19;
- To require the defendants to adequately staff the event in order to police and enforce health safety measures;
- And to take any other action necessary to protect the health and welfare of Jacksonville residents.
They also seek reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Do you think holding the Republican National Committee convention in Jacksonville is safe? Let us know in the comment section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by William C. Gentry, C. Rufus Pennington III, James Blecke and Craig A. Gibbs.
The Jacksonville RNC Public Health Nuisance Lawsuit is State of Florida, et al. v City of Jacksonville, et al., Case No. 16-2020-ca-003854, in the Circuit Court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in and for Duval County, Florida.
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2 thoughts onRNC Lawsuit Calls Trump Campaign ‘Public Nuisance’
Of course it was safe. It wasnt a gathering of 2 year olds. Adults make nb their own decisions. Grow Up and STOP with frivolous lawsuits. There are too many real lawsuits to be addressed.
No, I think it’s very Unsafe.