Less than a week after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, the Secret Service temporarily closed a major road near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in an effort to beef up security in the lead-up to November’s election.
Now, various posts making the rounds on social media claim that Palm Beach’s mayor is seeking to shut down Mar-a-Lago and evict Trump from his Florida home.
Pamela Geller, a right-wing blogger and activist, spread such claims in a blog post later shared with her 1.1 million followers on Facebook. “These fascists will stop at nothing,” Geller wrote. “The Mayor of Palm Beach is considering shutting down Mar-a-Lago and kicking Trump out of his own house.”
The claim is partially true, but missing critical context. While Palm Beach’s mayor and city council are considering closing Mar-a-Lago to club members, there is no evidence that Trump could be kicked out of his Florida home.
The Palm Beach Post reported that Palm Beach Council members on Tuesday discussed a temporary closure of Mar-a-Lago for club members because of the Secret Service’s closure of part of South Ocean Boulevard. “In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed,” Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore said at the meeting. “There’s no way in God’s green earth that they can bring 350 people into that club. It’s completely illogical that you’ve got a road closed and then you’re going to let 350 strangers into your club.”
The road closure is currently in effect through Election Day on November 5, and a temporary closure of the Florida resort could last through the same date.
Notably, the motive behind the potential closure of the club is not to remove Trump from his residence, but rather to ensure better security around the site—a task made more difficult by the presence of Mar-a-Lago resort guests numbering in the hundreds. When Trump was president, the road was closed only when he was staying at the resort.
If Palm Beach municipal officials ultimately decide to temporarily close Mar-a-Lago until the November election, there is no indication that Trump would be required to leave or change his residence. Although Mar-a-Lago is a private club and not zoned for residential living, Palm Beach zoning codes permit exceptions for clubs to provide living quarters for a “bona fide employee,” meaning Trump can reside there. Therefore, even if Palm Beach officials opt to close the resort, the former president could remain.
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