In October thousands of maskless worshippers gathered at Nashville’s Public Square Park at a time when everyone was being told to wear a mask, socially distance and stay home.
Lucus Leverett, who had to cancel his own Nashville Zombie Walk event, couldn’t believe his eyes.
“It probably was the most visual, obnoxious large-scale way to say to the city and the people of Nashville ‘We don’t care and we’re not going to help solve this problem,” said Leverett.
Leverett said he wants repercussions.
He said the police department should cite the event organizers for mask violations, the health department should penalize them for not having a permit and the parks department should charge them for use of the space.
“Having hosted our zombie walk in that space, we know that there’s a minimum cost of $1,000 to rent that park. There’s an electrical requirement that’s going to be at least some paperwork, and these people set up a concert plugged into power. You have to have permits to set up tents,” said Leverett.
The health department said from a public health and legal standpoint, they didn’t break any rules.
“Believe me, Metro did investigate,” said Brian Todd, spokesperson for Metro Public Health Department. “We felt like when it comes to the First Amendment, they had a right to assemble that way.”
“I think the city is basically telling people you can get away with whatever you want in Nashville, and we may say something about it, but we’re probably not going to take any action that makes any difference,” said Leverett.
News4 reached out to the event organizer but have not heard back.
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