State Rep. Omari Hardy, a Democrat representing West Palm Beach, demanded action after videos on social media showed many attendees—including Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle—mingling without masks, despite a mask mandate in effect in Palm Beach County.
Hardy contacted assistant county administrator Todd Bonlarron, questioning why the mask mandate was not enforced at the president’s private club.
In an email, he urged officials to close down or fine the club for the violations, stating that the party had the potential to be a coronavirus “super-spreader event.”
In a response to Hardy obtained by Newsweek, Bonlarron said he had passed the complaint to the county’s COVID Education and Compliance Team, the task force responsible for following up with businesses that violate county ordinances, and assured him it was being taken seriously.
“You are correct that there is a mask order in place in Palm Beach County and all individuals and businesses need to be in compliance with that law,” Bonlarron told Hardy in the email.
“We take these allegations very seriously as we do every complaint we have received regarding an individual or a business related to compliance issues.
“I have forwarded your email to our COVID Education and Compliance Teams and have [asked] them to log in the complaint and review it as we have done with many others that we have received. You have my assurances that this will happen.”
Bonlarron also noted that individuals, groups and organizations may be traveling into Palm Beach County from other parts of Florida that don’t have mask mandates.
“That makes it ever more important for us to work with businesses that routinely host these events to educate them on the letter of the laws and the seriousness of the violations regarding those laws,” he said.
His response comes after Hardy criticized officials for not enforcing the county’s mask mandate when it is common knowledge the president hosts a New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago every year.
Although Trump skipped this year’s party and returned to Washington. earlier than planned, his family members were among those seen dancing to performances by Vanilla Ice and The Beach Boys at the party. Other attendees included Rudy Giuliani and Congressman Matt Gaetz.
“Mar-a-Lago is a club. A club is a business. Businesses must abide by Palm Beach County’s mask order, or be fined or even shut down,” Hardy tweeted.
In another tweet on Sunday, he added: “Donald Trump will be a full-time resident of Palm Beach County in a matter of days. Either we stand up to him when he breaks the law and endangers the health of our residents, or we stand down and allow him to flout the law and walk all over us.”
In this email to Bonlarron, Hardy said: “I recognize that the President is a powerful person and that his business, Mar-a-Lago, is a daunting target for enforcement. But as far as I know, the law still applies to the President and to his business. The presidency does not confer on the President and his friends a special privilege to endanger the health and welfare of Palm Beach County’s residents.”
The Trump Organization could not immediately be reached for comment.
