Mar-a-Lago should be shut down after New Year’s Eve party violated COVID rules, says lawmaker Omari Hardy

Mar-a-Lago is bracing for a tax wallop. Image via AP.

Rep. Omari Hardy is urging Palm Beach County to shut down Mar-a-Lago after a video showed dozens of maskless partygoers celebrating the New Year at the club.

On Saturday, Hardy publicly called on Palm Beach County Government to fine and shut down the resort for its violation of the county’s mandatory mask order. Hardy suggested the county shutdown Mar-a-Lago until officials can be assured the business will comply with the county’s mask mandate.

“I recognize that the President is a powerful person and that his business, Mar-a-Lago, is a daunting target for enforcement, but the law is the law,” Hardy said in a statement. “The County’s mask mandate applies to all businesses in Palm Beach County. The presidency does not confer to the President and his friends a special privilege to endanger the health and welfare of Palm Beach County’s residents.”

Hardy emailed Assistant County Administrator Todd Bonlarron attaching the video and calling for enforcement of the mask mandate.

“During one of our weekly conference calls, you informed me that Palm Beach County’s emergency order requires businesses to require their patrons to wear masks,” Hardy wrote in the email to Bonlarron. “You also informed me that Palm Beach County has the authority to fine and even to shut down businesses for noncompliance with this order.”

“Mar-a-Lago is a club. A club is a business. Businesses must comply with Palm Beach County’s mask order,” he continues in the email.

New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago during deadly pandemic pic.twitter.com/oICbuJzpH1

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) January 1, 2021

In a statement, Hardy relays that he has been in touch with attorney Daniel Uhlfelder in regard to the matter. Uhlfelder garnered attention after filing suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis to close beaches to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He is also noted for dressing up as the grim reaper on the beach to represent the grim dangers of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Mr. Uhlfelder is a skilled attorney and an outspoken advocate for better government policy in the wake of this coronavirus pandemic,” Hardy said in a statement. “Mr. Uhlfelder and I have discussed various options for ensuring that the county’s mask mandate is enforced and that no business owner is given special treatment.”

According to the email, Palm Beach County published a schedule of fines for businesses found to be in noncompliance with the mask order. The schedule calls for a $250 fine for a first violation, a $350 fine for a second violation, and a $500 fine for each additional violation.

Amid the unsafe New Years celebration, Florida hit a record single-day coronavirus case load on Thursday, in which it confirmed 21,00o new cases — shattering all previous records by thousands of cases. It concluded a week of record case numbers.

My constituents are not snowbirds like @DonaldJTrumpJr & @kimguilfoyle. My constituents live here. This is their home, and they're going to have to deal w/ the consequences of a potential super-spreader party at Mar-a-Lago long after Junior & wife leave here on their private jet. pic.twitter.com/kt6SXErYG2

— Rep. Omari Hardy (@OmariJHardy) January 2, 2021