A group of Jacksonville attorneys are trying to stop the Republican National Convention from coming to their city, The Hill reports.
The attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Duval County that argues why the city shouldn’t host the event as coronavirus cases in the state of Florida continue 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 suit states.
The lawsuit claims that the RNC would be a “nuisance injurious to the health [and] welfare" of the community.
The lawsuit requests that the venue admit no more than 2,500 people and leave at least 12,500 seats empty to ensure social distancing.
The attorneys argue that "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 among the persons in attendance and throughout the City of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida and interfere in Plaintiffs' use and enjoyment of their property and right to be free of infliction of disease and death."
The lawsuit was filed after Florida logged a surge of coronavirus cases. Duval County has reported 10,439 cases and 70 deaths, according to state records.
Spokesman Mike Reed issued a statement that the Republican National Committee is "committed to holding a safe convention" that follows local health restrictions.
Jacksonville recently issued a mandate that people wear face masks indoors if they can’t social distance.
The entire RNC was scheduled to take place in North Carolina. President Donald Trump opted to move his acceptance speech to Jacksonville due to coronavirus restrictions in North Carolina.
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