The Oklahoma Supreme Court has denied a legal request to mandate that social distancing be enforced at President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa on Saturday, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.
As The Hill reported, the ruling comes in response to a lawsuit brought by two attorneys on behalf of city residents, businesses and people with compromised immune systems. The suit contended that the rally, Trump's first in months, since the pandemic shut down the country, would put the community at increased risk of coronavirus infection.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, painting the rally as a potential “super spreader event." In seeking an injunction, plaintiffs were not trying to stop the rally entirely, but rather to require that the 19,000-seat venue, the BOK Center, enforce social distancing guidelines.
The case quickly made its way to the state Supreme Court.
The city has seen a spike of coronavirus cases in the past weeks, The Hill reported; it said Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Bruce Dart warned against hosting the rally, while other officials urged people with health issues or compromised immunity steer clear because of their particular susceptibility to COVID-19.
Attorneys for the BOK Center reportedly argued that the precautions enacted by the Trump campaign were sufficient.
The Hill said that according to various state and city official roughly 200,000 people are expected in Tulsa for the rally. President Donald Trump has himself said close to a million requests for tickets were received.
The campaign has said attendees will be given temperature checks and hand sanitizer.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was quoted earlier this week as saying masks would also be provided, though their use was a matter of personal choice. The president has eschewed masks throughout the pandemic, a position embraced by many Trump supporters who consider the coronavirus threate exaggerated.
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