Hardy, Omari

From: Hardy, Omari

Sent: Friday, January 1, 2021 6:54 PM
To: 'TBonlarr@pbcgov.org'
Subject: Mask Order Violations at Mar-a-Lago

Hi Todd,

First, I want to congratulate you on the birth of your first child. I can only imagine the joy that you and Rachael
must be feeling right now. Congratulations!

Second, I want to wish you a Happy New Year! 2020 was a rough one for all of us. Let’s hope that 2021 is
much better.

Third, and most importantly, I want to direct your attention to the footage of last night’s New Year’s Eve party
at Mar-a-Lago. I saw it about an hour ago, and I found what I saw very concerning. If you haven’t seen it, you
can find it here: https://twitter.com/DWUhlfelderLaw/status/1345066634084573185. The footage shows that
none of the partygoers or entertainers at Mar-a-Lago were wearing masks last night.

During one of our weekly conference calls, you informed me that Palm Beach County’s emergency order
requires businesses to require their patrons to wear masks. You also informed me that Palm Beach County has
the authority to fine and even to shut down businesses for noncompliance with this order. You related to me,
and to the other lawmakers on the call, that the Governor’s more recent executive orders disallowing local
governments from fining individuals for not wearing masks does not diminish the County’s authority to enforce
its mask mandate on businesses. In our last weekly call, you ran down the numbers as far as fines levied, etc.,
on businesses that were not complying with the County’s order.

Mar-a-Lago is a club. A club is a business. Businesses must comply with Palm Beach County’s mask order. It is
common knowledge that the President hosts a New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago every year. I wonder
why the County was not prepared to enforce its mask mandate at the New Year’s Eve celebration hosted at
Mar-a-Lago last night. This event has the potential to be a super-spreader event. We cannot allow businesses
and business owners to openly flout our mask order. This kind of open noncompliance endangers the public
health and encourages more noncompliance, which in turn, further endangers the public health.

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 businesses. 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.

When I saw that video, I thought about the staff working at Mar-a-Lago. I thought about their families. I
thought about the teachers who might be teaching the staff’s children when school reopens after Winter Break. I
thought about the folks they might encounter at the grocery store or at the pharmacy. I thought also about our
healthcare workers who are risking their own lives to treat the sick as this deadly pandemic rages on. It is for
them that we should see to it that our mask order is enforced and that potential super-spreader events like this
are kept from happening.

I have a few questions about how we will handle this going forward:

1
 1. Will we take enforcement action against Mar-a-Lago for not complying with the County’s order? We
don’t lack evidence of noncompliance. The evidence is all over the internet. Going forward, how can the
County enforce its mask mandate if it allows a well-known businessperson to get away with openly
flouting it?
2. The County published a schedule of fines for businesses found to be in noncompliance with the
County’s order. The schedule provides for a $250 fine for a first violation, a $350 fine for a second
violation, and a $500 fine for each additional violation. The schedule also says that “each incident of a
continuing violation shall be deemed a separate additional violation.” The footage of the party at Mar-a-
Lago depicts (conservatively) dozens of instances of violations. If we take enforcement action against
the club – which I believe we should – will we seek the maximum fine amounts allowed according to
the County’s schedule of fines?
3. In our weekly calls, you noted that the County has shut down businesses for continued noncompliance
with the mask mandate. Will the County seek to shut down Mar-a-Lago if it finds that the mask
mandate has been consistently flouted there? We must have law and order here in Palm Beach County.
What is fair for the average business owner is fair also for the owner of Mar-a-Lago.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,

Omari Hardy
State Representative
District 88