The Oklahoma Supreme Court says Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa can proceed as planned. A group of Tulsa attorneys filed a lawsuit earlier this week attempting to enforce safety protocols in the venue where 19,000 people are expected to gather for the President’s first political rally in four months.
In their decision, the justices cited the state’s reopening plan, which allows the reopening of entertainment venues, such as the BOK Center. The plan does not include any mandatory requirements for face coverings or social distancing.
The attorneys called the rally ‘an imminent and deadly risk’. They filed the lawsuit on behalf of two businesses and two residents in an effort to stop the rally. Tulsa public health officials have expressed similar concerns about the event being a ‘super-spreader’ because it is indoors, and Tulsa has experienced a spike of COVID-19 cases in recent days.
One of the attorneys, Clark Brewster, represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against Trump. In 2016, Daniels was paid $130,000 in exchange for signing a nondisclousre agreement about an affair she had with Trump in 2016. When the payment was reported in 2018, Daniels filed three lawsuits against Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen arguing that the nondisclosure agreement was invalid and that she had been defamed. Two of the lawsuits were dismissed, and the third was settled out of court. Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen did plead guilty to eight criminal charges, including a campaign finance violation for the Daniels payment.
In the lawsuit ahead of the Trump Tulsa rally, Brewster said his motivation was not about the president but was rather an attempt to avoid what he called ‘a certain spike in COVID-19 cases’ following the indoor rally that doesn’t require participants to take safety precautions.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, Governor Kevin Stitt and President Trump’s campaign staff have said the attending the event is a matter of personal responsibility and that people who are vulnerable or may be infected should stay home.
