One day after a dramatic meeting of the arts institution’s Board of Trustees, during which members – many of whom are allies of President Donald Trump – voted to close its doors, lights inside the Kennedy Center’s main building appeared to have been turned off.
The doors had been locked at 6 p.m. Tuesday night and bike racks were stacked up by entrances to block public access.
But officially closing the public monument would violate a court order requiring it remain open as a lawsuit brought by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty continues.
On Wednesday, US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, in response to an appeal for an emergency hearing filed by Beatty, ordered the Trump administration to answer questions over the status of the building by Thursday at 10 a.m ET.
Beatty issued the request after a member of her legal team was denied entry to the main building and “was informed by several security staff members that the building is currently closed to the public,” her attorneys said in a court filing.
#building #trustees
The doors had been locked at 6 p.m. Tuesday night and bike racks were stacked up by entrances to block public access.
But officially closing the public monument would violate a court order requiring it remain open as a lawsuit brought by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty continues.
On Wednesday, US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, in response to an appeal for an emergency hearing filed by Beatty, ordered the Trump administration to answer questions over the status of the building by Thursday at 10 a.m ET.
Beatty issued the request after a member of her legal team was denied entry to the main building and “was informed by several security staff members that the building is currently closed to the public,” her attorneys said in a court filing.
#building #trustees
6 hours ago