South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem sued the Biden administration on Friday after it canceled the Independence Day fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore, demanding the court “expeditiously” issue a permit for the event to take place.
“Mount Rushmore is the very best place to celebrate America’s birthday and all that makes our country special,” Noem wrote. “After telling us they’d ‘circle back,’ the Biden Administration has not responded to our request to uphold the Memorandum Agreement between the State of South Dakota and the National Parks Service to host a safe and responsible national celebration and fireworks show.”
According to the 25-page lawsuit, the Department of Interior sent a letter to Ms. Noem, saying the event would not go on as planned due to the risk of COVID-19 spread, the potential environmental impact, and the opposition by tribal leaders.
“The letter made no attempt to quantify or otherwise characterize the risk level for this year’s planned event or how it differed from the risk level for the exact same event last year, which DOI approved,” the lawsuit read. Gov. Kristi Noem held the celebration last year during the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was done “safely and responsibly.”