Congresswoman Joyce Beatty asked a federal judge to hold an emergency hearing in response to the “unlawful” closure of the Kennedy Center.
“This court’s order enjoined the Board from effectuating its shutdown resolutions ‘until the board approves any closure consistent with the court’s memorandum opinion, and the Court issues a further order dissolving or modifying this preliminary injunction,’” Beatty’s attorneys wrote in a motion on Wednesday. “Were there any doubt, this court made clear at yesterday’s hearing that if defendants intended to close the Center, they could and must move to lift the preliminary injunction. The board has voted to close the center. But the court has not dissolved or modified its order. It seems defendants may be violating the ‘clear and unambiguous order of the court.’”
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper — who has blocked efforts to add Donald Trump’s name to the building, twice — immediately ordered the Kennedy Center’s Board to respond by Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
The arts community is also snapping into action.
Hands Off the Arts co-founder Mallory Miller joined All Rise News earlier this afternoon for a roughly half-hour interview to discuss the litigation, her more than two years of work at the Kennedy Center and how her unionizing activities inside the institution inspired her activism. She also explains why arts activists wear red in court.
During our conversation, she announced that there would be a protest on Friday titled “Hands Around the Kennedy Center.” Learn more about it here, and watch the full video of the interview at the top of this newsletter.
