A US federal judge ruled the Trump administration must give 30 days’ notice before any “demolition” occurs to the Kennedy Center, as President Donald Trump warned the Washington DC performing arts venue could be “ripped down”.
The order comes after Trump was photographed onboard Air Force One looking at a poster with a headline that appeared to tout the demolition of the site.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered a detailed report of the centre’s “temporary closure” for emergency repairs, and for written notice of any change to the scope of the project.
In May, Cooper ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building.
In a document filed to court on Thursday before the judge’s ruling, Kennedy Center executive director Matt Floca said the temporary closure was to repair safety hazards and would last seven days “unless extended”.
On Tuesday, the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees voted – for the third time since February – to close the venue down for two years.
Trump then took to Truth Social to write that the board, which is chaired by him and includes his cabinet members and allies, voted “almost unanimously” to close the venue “for safety reasons”.
He has argued that the venue is badly in need of repair, and that by adding his name to the building it will be able to secure renovation funding.
“I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition because, frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close,” he told reporters in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday. “It’ll end up being ripped down.”
On Wednesday, Trump was photographed through a window of Air Force One looking at a placard that appeared to read: “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.”
On Thursday, Cooper ordered the Trump administration to provide at least 30 days’ notice ahead of any change in construction plans.
That order came after congresswoman Joyce Beatty, an ex officio Kennedy Center board member, asked the judge to make “crystal clear that its order prohibits demolishing the structure”.
Beatty, a Democrat, had previously sued to halt changes to the Kennedy Center, and to strip Trump’s name from the building.
Congress established the centre as a memorial to President John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.
Some critics argue that congressional action is required to make changes to the building, and that the need for renovations is exaggerated.
By BBC News
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