Donald Trump’s neighbors at Mar-a-Lago are worried that their once peaceful and private town would become a beacon for supporters of Donald Trump as they argue against him living permanently at his sprawling private club.
Opponents to Trump’s decision to live full-time at Mar-a-Lago made their arguments as local lawmakers in Palm Beach, Fla., gathered to consider the former president’s fate.
Philip Johnston an attorney representing a group called Preserve Palm Beach, said his clients are worried about a declining qualify of life. “We feel that this issue threatens to make Mar-a-Lago into a permanent beacon for his more rabid, lawless supporters.”
Reginald Stambaugh, a lawyer representing some of Trump’s neighbors at Mar-a-Lago told the council that the agreement Trump signed in 1993 “assured my clients they would be able to live peacefully and enjoy the privacy afforded others on the island.”
The town attorney, Skip Randolph, said there was nothing in the club’s 1993 agreement with Palm Beach that prohibits Trump from residing there. “This is a debate that I really think is silly,” Randolph said.
He said the Trump would be considered a bona fide employee of the entity.
“This guy, as he wanders the property, is like the mayor of Mar-a-Lago. He’s always present,” Randolph said in his virtual presentation to the town council on Tuesday.
Trump’s lawyer, John Marion assured members of the town that the extensive security measures that followed Trump when he was still in office will no longer be in effect.
He said Secret Service staff would be limited to about 10 people and that streets would no longer be closed off to through traffic.
The Council has postponed all actions related to the matter until April. NPR reports.
