THE POST MODERN OLD WEST

Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota rally to be blocked at tribal land checkpoints

Clampdown comes as fears mount that mask-free bikers headed to large gathering could spread coronavirus to tribal groups

Motorcyclists drive down Main Street during the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Friday in Sturgis, South Dakota. Photograph: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota’s 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will not be allowed through Cheyenne River Sioux checkpoints, a spokesman for the Native American group said on Saturday.

The decision to prevent access across tribal lands to the annual rally, which could attract as many as 250,000 bikers amid fears it could lead to a massive, regional coronavirus outbreak, comes as part of larger Covid-19 prevention policy. The policy has pitted seven tribes that make up the Great Sioux Nation against federal and state authorities, which both claim the checkpoints are illegal.


'It's just madness': bikers throng South Dakota town despite Covid threat
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A duty officer for the Cheyenne River Sioux told the Guardian on Saturday that only commercial and emergency vehicles will be let through the checkpoints onto reservation land.

A number of bikers had tried to enter but had been turned back, they said. Other reservations in the region, including the Oglala Sioux, were also turning away bikers that had attempted routes to Sturgis that pass through sovereign land.

Under Cheyenne River tribal guidelines non-residents driving non-commercial out-of-state vehicles are never allowed through the reservation. During the rally, non-commercial vehicles with South Dakota plates are also not allowed through.

The clampdown comes as fears mount that mask-free bikers visiting Sturgis for the largest gathering of people since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic could spread the virus to tribal groups that are already experiencing a rise in cases.

Oglala Sioux recorded 163 cases last week, while the Cheyenne River Sioux has seen cases rise to 79, according to the tribe’s website.

The restrictions come as local law enforcement reported a convergence of bikers from all directions. According to reports, many bikers heading for Sturgis expressed defiance at rules and restrictions that have marked life during the coronavirus pandemic.

While South Dakota has fared better than most states – it ranks 38th in Covid deaths per capita, according to a Reuters tally – cases have risen in recent weeks as hotspots move into the midwest.

During the rally, people are expected to cram bars and pack concerts with at least 34 acts playing. “Screw COVID,” read the design on one T-shirt on sale. “I went to Sturgis.”

I trusted my people, they trusted me, and South Dakota is in a good spot in our fight against COVID-19.

The #Sturgis motorcycle rally starts this weekend, and we're excited for visitors to see what our great state has to offer! https://t.co/UiHvaYviqa— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) August 6, 2020

Stephen Sample, who rode his Harley-Davidson from Arizona, told the Associated Press that the event was a break from the routine of the last several months.

“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be cooped up all my life either,” Sample, 66, said, adding that he had weighed the risks of navigating the crowds, but the same thrill-seeking that attracted him to riding motorcycles seemed to win out.

“I think we’re all willing to take a chance,” he said, but acknowledged the trip “could be a major mistake.”

South Dakota’s Republican governor, Kristi Noem, has supported holding the Sturgis rally, pointing out that no virus outbreak was documented from the several thousand people who turned out to see Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore last month.

The rally is marking its 80th anniversary and typically injects $800m into South Dakota’s economy. Meade county sheriff, Rob Merwin, said: “It’s going to be a lot of people and a lot of motorcycles all over the place. People are tired of being penned up by this pandemic.”


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On Friday, a worker at the event told the Guardian crowds seemed larger than in previous years and warned that Sturgis attendees were paying little heed to medical advice.

“I’ve not seen one single person wearing a mask,” said bartender Jessica Christian, 29. “It’s just pretty much the mentality that, ‘If I get it, I get it.’”

“In downtown Sturgis it’s just madness,” Christian added. “People not socially distancing, everybody touching each other. It’ll be interesting to see how that turns out.”

Over 60% of Sturgis 6,900 residents who responded to a city council survey in May said they wanted the rally canceled.

A month later, the council voted to move ahead, although it canceled all city-sponsored events associated with the rally and included measures such as hand-sanitizing stations. Sturgis mayor Mark Carstensen said throughout the pandemic, “the state of South Dakota has been the freedom state and the city of Sturgis has stayed true to that”.

THE RIGHT'S WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS
S.D. transgender bans follow national legal groups' playbook

South Dakota has been a testing ground for anti-transgender legislation pushed by conservative groups since Gov.Kristi Noem signed a law banning transgender women and girls from competing in women's sports in 2021. 

File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Growing efforts to enact laws restricting transgender rights across the United States have largely been orchestrated by national conservative organizations determined to dismantle "gender ideology."

Few of the proposals originate within the states' borders as a result of concerns from constituents. Instead, many come from a playbook that includes advice on how to write the laws so they will hold up in court.

Representatives from the American Principles Project and the Alliance Defending Freedom -- two organizations pushing anti-transgender legislation in states including South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Montana, Florida and Tennessee -- told UPI in interviews about the overarching goal of their concerted effort: to block transgender people from protections under civil rights law.

APP policy director Jon Schweppe opposes "gender ideology," which he describes as "the belief that sex and gender are different. That gender is not immutable, it is something that you can determine for yourself."

"Ultimately, we believe this gender identity stuff is delusional," he said.

In contrast, a study from the University of Melbourne found gender-affirming therapy to be potentially lifesaving. Endocrinologist Brendan Nolan said people who begin hormone therapy earlier experienced significant reductions in gender dysphoria, depression and suicidal ideation.

The number of patients in the study that experienced suicidal ideation prior to the therapy was cut in half within the first three months after starting.

Outside influences

Among the first laws to target transgender youth in multiple states was a ban on transgender girls from women's sports.

South Dakota, where the GOP holds 94 of 105 legislative seats, has been a testing ground for such restrictions, said state Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, becoming one of the first states to enact the women's sports laws in 2022.

Though Wittman was aware of the uphill battle she and her 10 Democratic colleagues faced in resisting a persistent wave of bills focused on banning items like gender-affirming healthcare, she was surprised to learn how much her Republican colleagues were coordinating with forces outside the state.

In March, more than 2,600 emails between state Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, other Republican lawmakers across the country and a slew of anti-transgender activists and organizations were leaked to Mother Jones.

"I was surprised by the breadth of the impact Rep. Deutsch had been having," Wittman told UPI. "The conversations he was having with individuals who could not be less connected to South Dakota. It read like a decades-long playbook on how to strip trans community members of their rights."

Wittman said these types of conversations between lawmakers and out-of-state organizations are "absolutely not" common.

The whistleblower in the email chain, former anti-transgender activist Elisa Rae Shupe, exposed the coordinated effort to enact copycat laws throughout the United States.

"When all of that came out, more people realized this is not coming from South Dakota," Rachel Polan, newly elected president of Sioux Falls Pride, told UPI.

"People in South Dakota really value individual liberty. That is fair to say no matter where they are on the political spectrum. Were it left up to a simple majority, I don't think South Dakota would be voting to ban trans people from sports or to make trans people use the bathroom of their assigned gender at birth."

Matt Sharp, director of legislative advocacy for the ADF, is one of the reported 18 people that Deutsch was coordinating with in 2019, mostly on efforts to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports.

His group was one of the first legal organizations to be involved in litigation on this issue, specifically in Soule vs. Connecticut Association of Schools in which four female high school track athletes challenged the state's policy to allow transgender girls to compete in girls' sports. The case was dismissed in 2021 and the court of appeals upheld that judgment.

"Since then, we have been receiving inquiries from legislatures that have wanted to see what we could do to protect fairness in their states," Sharp said.

The ADF uses its litigation expertise to advise state and federal lawmakers on bills, evaluate their viability and ensure the laws would hold up in court.

APP was also active on the transgender sports issue in South Dakota. The group found that it was important for Republicans to carefully frame their stance as "for women" rather than "against transgender athletes," Schweppe said.

South Dakota first attempted to pass a bill in 2021, but it was vetoed by Gov. Kristi Noem. She advised the legislature to rework the language to avoid conflict between the state's public universities and the NCAA. The following year, a reworked version of the bill was signed into law.

"I would point to South Dakota as a state we have had wild success in," Schweppe said.

Gender-affirming care

Sharp said the ADF has worked closely with many of the 22 states that have gender-affirming healthcare bans in effect.

"Alliance Defending Freedom is committed to protecting children from harmful and unnecessary medical procedures being pushed by politicized medical associations and interest groups," he said. "We look forward to even more states joining the effort to protect vulnerable children in their states."

ADF and similar organizations often cite Dutch research to support their claims that gender-affirming healthcare is harmful, particularly to children. Sharp cited a study from the Endocrine Society, which states that gender dysphoria resolves for 85% of youth who go through puberty without gender-affirming care.

This study was also cited in an expert opinion by James Cantor in the case of Boe vs. Marshall in Alabama. In that case, the court ruled against the state's law that would have imposed criminal penalties on parents and healthcare providers who facilitated gender-affirming care for minors.

Researchers from Emory University, led by Dr. Vin Tangpricha, dispute the assertion that gender dysphoria resolves at such a high rate naturally. The research team tracked 82 transgender and gender-non-conforming teens over the course of several years.

"The vast majority of transgender and gender diverse people seeking gender-affirming hormone therapy continue on these therapies. This indicates that these gender identities are persistent and sustained," Tangpricha said.

According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide and are at much greater risk to have suicidal ideation. About 20% of transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide, according to the organization's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.

Sharp said his group is working with people who have "detransitioned."

"They sadly went through these procedures and now regret it."

Shupe once worked to oppose gender-affirming care alongside organizations like ADF. She has since renounced such organizations for using her as a "pawn."

"That fact should serve as a cautionary tale for others who may choose to get involved with these groups at their own peril," Shupe wrote in a 2022 blog. "By doing so, you will simply become a useful idiot: a pawn in their injurious war against the transgender population."

Shupe, a U.S. Army veteran, became the first legally recognized non-binary person in the United States in 2016.

House Bill 1080, called the "Help Not Harm" law, went into effect in South Dakota on July 1. It bars healthcare providers from administering surgery, prescribing drugs that delay or stop puberty and prescribing hormones at amounts "greater than would be normally produced" to anyone under age 18.

'NRA for families'

The APP has been billed as the "NRA for families," Schweppe said, as the organization runs ad campaigns and works on bills that "defend the family."

"We run ads to show Republican politicians that these are winning issues," Schweppe said. "We also worked with lawmakers to push bills across the finish line."

What would be described as winning issues changed in the eyes of Republicans for a time, Schweppe said. After a failed "bathroom bill" in North Carolina in 2016, he saw Republicans turn away from such legislation.

"We frankly lost that issue. What we did was we wanted to counter gender ideology. That was the long-term goal of ours," he said.

Women's sports bills became the next target. Then, bans on gender-affirming healthcare.

APP had also worked against same-sex marriage. Schweppe said he still "institutionally opposes" it, but the issue has fallen to the wayside because the organization is focused on "where we can actually win," like bans on gender-affirming care for kids.

Its next battle is to prevent the Equality Act from becoming federal law. The act would codify gender identity into civil rights law, protecting transgender and non-binary people from discrimination.

The bill has passed the U.S. House but has died in committee in the Senate in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

COVIDIOTS

Dakotas lead US in virus growth as both reject mask rules

Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation

STEPHEN GROVES and DAVE KOLPACK Associated Press
12 September 2020


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned debates over masks and personal freedom after months in which the two states avoided the worst of the pandemic.

The argument over masks raged this week in Brookings, South Dakota, as the city council considered requiring face coverings in businesses. The city was forced to move its meeting to a local arena to accommodate intense interest, with many citizens speaking against it, before the mask requirement ultimately passed.

Amid the brute force of the pandemic, health experts warn that the infections must be contained before care systems are overwhelmed. North Dakota and South Dakota lead the country in new cases per capita over the last two weeks, ranking first and second respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.

South Dakota has also posted some of the country's highest positivity rates for COVID-19 tests in the last week — over 17 percent — an indication that there are more infections than tests are catching.

Infections have been spurred by schools and universities reopening and mass gatherings like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew hundreds of thousands of people from across the country.

“It is not a surprise that South Dakota has one of the highest (COVID-19) reproduction rates in the country,” Brookings City Council member Nick Wendell said as he commented on the many people who forgo masks in public.

The Republican governors of both states have eschewed mask requirements, tapping into a spirit of independence hewn from enduring the winters and storms of the Great Plains.

New evidence shows young children can transmit COVID-19

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study identified that 12 children infected at child care centers went on to infect 12 others, including parents and siblings.

The Dakotas were not always a hot spot. For months, the states appeared to avoid the worst of the pandemic, watching from afar as it raged through large cities. But spiking infection rates have fanned out across the nation, from the East Coast to the Sun Belt and now into the Midwest, where states like Iowa and Kansas are also dealing with surges.

When the case count stayed low during the spring and early summer, people grew weary of constantly taking precautions, said Dr. Benjamin Aaker, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association.

“People have a tendency to become complacent,” he said. “Then they start to relax the things that they were doing properly, and that’s when the increase in cases starts to go up."


Health officials point out that the COVID-19 case increases have been among younger groups that are not hospitalized at high rates. But infections have not been contained to college campuses.

“College students work in places where the vulnerable live, such as nursing homes,” said Dr. Joel Walz, the Grand Forks, North Dakota, city and county health officer. “Some of them are nursing students who are doing rotations where they’re going to see people who are really at risk. I worry about that.”

Over 1,000 students at the states' four largest universities (the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota) left campus to quarantine after being exposed to the virus, according to data released by the schools. The Sturgis rally also spread infections across the region, with health officials in 12 states reporting over 300 cases among people who attended the event.

But requiring masks has been controversial. In Brookings, opponents said they believed the virus threat was not as serious as portrayed and that a mandate was a violation of civil liberties.

“There are a lot of things we have in life that we have to deal with that cause death,” business owner Teresa Holloman told the council. “We live in America, and we have certain inalienable rights.”

Though Brookings passed its ban, another hot spot — North Dakota's Morton County, just west of the capital city of Bismarck — soundly rejected a mask requirement after citizens spoke against it. Brookings may be the lone municipality with such an order in the Dakotas outside of Native American reservations, which have generally been more vigilant in adopting coronavirus precautions. Native Americans have disproportionately died from COVID-19, accounting for 24% of deaths statewide.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem have resisted mask requirements. Burgum promotes personal choice but tried to encourage masks with a social media campaign. Noem has discouraged mask requirements, saying she doubts a broad consensus in the medical community that they help prevent infections.

At a press briefing, Burgum displayed a slide that showed active cases in neighboring Minnesota rising to record levels since implementing a mask mandate July 25.

"In the end, it’s about individual decisions, not what the government does," he said.

Noem, who has yet to appear at a public event with a mask, carved out a reputation as a staunch conservative when she defied calls early in the pandemic for lockdown orders.

But both governors face increasing pressure to step up their approach.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health, told MSNBC that the states' virus levels were “disturbing,” especially as fall weather arrives and Americans begin spending more time indoors.

"You don’t want to start off already with a baseline that’s so high,” Fauci said.

Neither governor appears ready to yield any ground.

“We will not be changing that approach,” Noem spokesman Ian Fury said Thursday, citing a low hospitalization rate and the fact that only 3% of intensive-care beds are occupied by COVID patients.

Doctors in both states warn that their health care systems remain vulnerable. Small hospitals in rural areas depend on just a handful of large hospitals to handle large inflows of patients or complex procedures, said Dr. Misty Anderson, president of the North Dakota Medical Association.

Aaker, the president of the South Dakota physician's group, said medical practices have seen patients delaying routine care during the pandemic, meaning that doctors could soon see an uptick in patients needing more serious attention.

“Now we are adding a surge in coronavirus cases potentially,” he said. "They are worried about being overwhelmed.”

———

The Bogus Fraud Claims Are All About Giving Trump An Off-Ramp, Officials Say

Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference on legal challenges to vote counting in Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

By COLLEEN LONG and Zeke Miller
November 8, 2020 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has promised legal action in the coming days as he refused to concede his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, making an aggressive pitch for donors to help finance any court fight.

Trump and his campaign have leveled accusations of large-scale voter fraud in Pennsylvania and other states that broke for Biden, so far without proof.

But senior officials, campaign aides and allies told The Associated Press that overwhelming evidence of fraud isn’t really the point.

The strategy to wage a legal fight against the votes tallied for Biden in Pennsylvania and other places is more to provide Trump with an off-ramp for a loss he can’t quite grasp and less about changing the election’s outcome, the officials said. They spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.

Trump aides and allies also acknowledged privately the legal fights would — at best — forestall the inevitable, and some had deep reservations about the president’s attempts to undermine faith in the vote. But they said Trump and a core group of loyalists were aiming to keep his base of supporters on his side even in defeat.

There has never been a presidential election in memory where such widespread fraud was alleged.

Moments after the AP called the race for Biden, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani stood in front of campaign banner taped over the garage door of a landscaping company in Philadelphia, wedged between a cremation center and an adult book store, with a handful of poll watchers and declared they’d been kept too far away to check for any inaccuracies.

“We have no way of knowing, because we’ve been deprived of the right to inspect ballots,” he said.

Partisan poll watchers are designated by a political party or campaign to report any concerns they may have. They are not poll workers who actually tally ballots. Monitoring polling places and election offices is allowed in most states, but rules vary and there are certain limits to avoid any harassment or intimidation. They are not allowed to interfere with the conduct of the election and are typically required to register in advance with the local election office.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference on legal challenges to vote counting in Pennsylvania, Saturday Nov. 7

This year, because of the coronavirus that has killed more than 230,000 people across the country, there was litigation in a few states, including Pennsylvania, over where poll watchers could stand to ensure social distancing.

Lawyers could potentially argue the vote tally should be cast aside over fraud observed by poll watchers, but in order to win that argument they’d need evidence, not just allegations the monitors weren’t allowed to see clearly enough. Judges are loathe to disenfranchise any voters and there would need to be substantial proof that fraud had damaged the count so much that it must be set aside.

Democratic poll watchers, who were also given the same access, have not raised concerns. Giuliani called evidence of fraud circumstantial at the news conference. He said he’d be filing suit in federal court, but the issue has already been before judges.

A federal judge in Philadelphia Thursday night ordered the two sides to work out an agreement on the number of poll watchers and how close they could be to the counting. The judge also voiced concerns about the safety of poll workers during the pandemic if poll watchers were allowed to peer over their shoulders.

Eric Trump, son of President Trump, and wife Lara Trump listen as Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, speaks off camera during a news conference 

On Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” Sunday, Giuliani said two additional lawsuits were in the process of being drafted, in addition to existing litigation in Pennsylvania.

By the end of this week, Giuliani predicted the campaign would have filed “four or five” lawsuits, with a total of 10 possible.

Voter fraud is extremely rare, and when it does happen, people are generally caught and prosecuted and it does not change the outcome of the election. Typically, it involves someone wanting to honor the wishes of a loved one who recently died and either knowingly or not commits a crime by filling out that ballot.

Trump campaign officials have also alleged that more than 21,000 had been cast in the name of the dead in Pennsylvania. The claims stem from a conservative legal group’s lawsuit against the Secretary of State, accusing her of wrongly including some 21,000 supposedly dead residents on voter rolls.

The federal judge who has the case, John Jones, has said he was doubtful of the claims. He said the Public Interest Legal Foundation that brought the claims was asking the court to accept that there were dead people on voter rolls, and he asked for proof and questioned why they had waited until the “eleventh hour” to file suit.

“We cannot and will not take plaintiff’s word for it — in an election where every vote matters, we will not disenfranchise potentially eligible voters based solely upon the allegations of a private foundation,” he wrote in an Oct. 20 ruling.

Even Trump’s own administration has pushed back at the claims of widespread voter fraud and illegal voting though it didn’t mention Trump was the one making the allegations. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the federal agency that oversees U.S. election security, also noted local election offices have detection measures that “make it highly difficult to commit fraud through counterfeit ballots.”

Top election officials in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada — both Republican and Democrat — have all said they see no widespread voting irregularities, no major instances of fraud or illegal activity.

Meanwhile, on a call with supporters Saturday, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien encouraged them to be ready to continue the fight for Trump, including standing by for rallies and demonstrations. Other aides outlined what they argued were irregularities in the count.

And Republicans were sticking to the idea that all “legal” votes must be counted — the language freighted with a clear implication that Democrats want illegal votes counted, a claim for which there is no evidence.

It’s was precarious balance for Trump’s allies as they try to be supportive of the president — and avoid risking further fallout — but face the reality of the vote count.

According to one Republican granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation, Republicans on Capitol Hill were giving Trump the space to consider all legal options, and allowing the process to play out.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet made any public statements — neither congratulating Biden nor joining Trump’s complaints about the results.

“I’m not sure his position would have changed from yesterday — count all the votes, adjudicate all the claims,” said Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist in Kentucky allied with McConnell. “My sense is there’s won’t be any tolerance for beyond what the law allows. There will be tolerance for what the law allows.”

It was a view being echoed by several other Republicans neither supporting or rejecting the outcome.

“Nothing that I’ve seen regarding the election raises a legal issue that could succeed. There is just is nothing there,” said Barry Richard, who represented George W. Bush in the 2000 recount in Florida that ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court. “When these kind of lawsuits are filed it just breeds contempt for the whole legal system,” he said.

___

Associated Press Writers Lisa Mascaro and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C. contributed to this report.

Without Evidence To Back Them Up, Trump Allies Egg On Claims Of Widespread Fraud

By Matt Shuham
November 8, 2020 

Several prominent Republicans put their names behind President Donald Trump’s ridiculous claims of widespread voter fraud on Sunday, egging on the President’s effort to reject the election’s results and undermine confidence in the democratic process

“People have signed legal documents, affidavits, stating that they saw illegal activities!” Gov. Kristi Noem (R) of South Dakota told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, as if that was itself evidence of wrongdoing.

On Fox News, speaking to Maria Bartiromo, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said that, sure, he was prepared to present evidence of widespread fraud… just not yet.

“It takes a while to collect 2,000 affidavits,” Giuliani said.

The messages of support came a day after several networks projected that Biden had won the election — and after Trump released a statement through his campaign promising yet more legal action against elections officials and states. “We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed,” he said.

But the evidence presented by Republicans has, at this point, become a standard set of weak talking points: Observers weren’t allowed to watch the ballot-counting process in Pennsylvania closely enough, they say. And a counting error in one Michigan county mistakenly awarded Trump votes to Biden. (The mistake was quickly corrected, state and local officials point out, and would have been discovered during the canvassing process even without an uproar of bad faith allegations.)

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), speaking later on Bartiromo’s show Sunday, said Republicans had established without a doubt that a handful of dead people had voted in Pennsylvania (though he didn’t share the evidence that made him so sure).

“There’s so much to be looked at, and I’m hellbent on looking at it,” he said.

Graham eventually got to what he said was an unavoidable political truth about mail-in voting, which exploded in popularity in light of the COVID-19 pandemic: “From a Republican point of view, mail in balloting is a nightmare for us,” he said.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), speaking after the South Carolinian, didn’t spend as much effort trying to back up the Trump campaign on its country-spanning, evidence-free allegations of fraud. But he, like his colleagues, was convinced that Joe Biden hadn’t earned the presidential call just yet.

“You know, one of the frustrating things, just as an American watching this, is you hear all these allegations of what’s going on and it’s hard to know what the facts are, it’s hard to know what the truth is,” Cruz said. “Well, we have a process for ascertaining the truth, which is that you can go and present evidence and test it in a court of law.”

The Texan offered Trump dead-enders a ray of hope: “Historically, mail-in votes are much more likely to be disqualified in a recount than in-person votes.”

Matt Shuham (@mattshuham) is a reporter in TPM’s New York office covering corruption, extremism and other beats. Prior to joining TPM, he was associate editor of The National Memo and an editorial intern at Rolling Stone.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos spars with South Dakota governor on voter fraud conspiracy theories

BY ZACK BUDRYK - 11/08/20

  ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Sunday when she suggested that President-elect Joe Biden was the beneficiary of "illegal activities" in the election.

Noem during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" said that "people have signed legal documents ... stating that they saw illegal activities" and cited New York Times reports of "clerical errors."

"No widespread fraud, governor. That's very different," Stephanopoulos responded.

"We gave Al Gore 37 days to runs the process before we decided who was going to be president. Why would we not afford the 70.6 million Americans that voted for President Trump the same consideration?" Noem responded, referring to the 2000 Democratic nominee.

Stephanopoulos pointed out that Gore was behind by 500 votes in a single state in the 2000 election, while Biden leads in multiple states by tens of thousands of votes.

“That is not close. That is not within the margin that elections are usually turned around on,” he said.

“This isn't just about this election. This is about every election in the future and the fact that the American people, the everyday people who get up and work hard, that are suffering through this pandemic, that have tragically lost family members, that they need to know at least America still functions and we care about doing things right,” Noem responded.

“It starts with providing evidence. You still have not provided it,” Stephanopoulos responded.

THIRD WORLD USA

10-year-old rape victim denied abortion after Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade

She was forced to travel to a different state to have the termination

by JADE BIGGS 

COSMOPOLITAN

5 JUL 2022

ELIJAH NOUVELAGEGETTY IMAGES

A 10-year-old rape victim, who was six weeks pregnant, was denied an abortion following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade. The ruling means there is no longer a nationwide right to terminate a pregnancy and individual states now have the freedom to make their own laws on abortion access.

The girl, who lives in Ohio, was ineligible to have an abortion in her own state in light of Roe v Wade being overturned and was forced to travel to Indiana for the procedure. Currently, abortion in Indiana is legal, but lawmakers are expected to bring in tighter restrictions later this month when the state assembly comes together.

"It’s hard to imagine that in just a few short weeks we will have no ability to provide that care," Dr Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, told the Columbus Dispatch. Bernard had treated the girl after a colleague in Ohio who works with child abuse victims called and asked for help.

Abortion providers like Bernard say they have seen a sharp increase in the number of patients, from the nearby states where such procedures are now restricted or banned, coming to their clinics for abortion.

The case has further reignited conversation in the US about abortion rights, and has forced anti-abortion political figures to address how the rights of women and girls – including abuse victims – will be balanced against abortion restrictions.


SOPA IMAGESGETTY IMAGES

Yet some anti-abortionists have seemingly deflected on the matter, with Republican governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota – where abortion is now illegal unless "necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female" – telling CNN that the public should be "addressing those sick individuals [who] do this to our children" adding that "nobody’s talking about the pervert, horrible and deranged individual that raped a 10-year-old."

As for whether she would push to change the law in South Dakota if a similar case occurred, Noem said: "I don’t believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy. There’s more that we have got to do to make sure that we really are living a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been shattered, like that 10-year-old girl."

When asked if the 10-year-old should have had the baby, the Republican replied, "every single life – every single life is precious. This tragedy is horrific. But, in South Dakota, the law today is that the abortions are illegal, except to save the life of the mother."

Although, Noem did not rule out that performing an abortion on the 10-year-old could be classed as protecting the life of the pregnant female. "Yes, that situation, the doctor, the family, the individuals closest to that will make the decisions there for that family."

Native Americans protesting Trump trip to Mount Rushmore

By STEPHEN GROVES June 26, 2020

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2002, file photo, the sun rises on Mt. Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, S.D. as the flag is flown at half staff in honor of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. President Donald Trump is planning to kick off Independence Day weekend in South Dakota with a show of patriotism _ fireworks popping, fighter jets thundering overhead and revelers crowding beneath a piece of classic Americana _ Mount Rushmore. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch, File)


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s plans to kick off Independence Day with a showy display at Mount Rushmore have angered Native Americans, who view the monument as a desecration of land violently stolen from them and used to pay homage to leaders hostile to Indigenous people.

Several groups led by Native American activists are planning protests for Trump’s July 3 visit, part of Trump’s “comeback” campaign for a nation reeling from sickness, unemployment and, recently, social unrest. The event is slated to include fighter jets thundering over the 79-year-old stone monument in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the first fireworks display at the site since 2009.

But it comes amid a national reckoning over racism and a reconsideration of the symbolism of monuments around the globe. Many Native American activists say the Rushmore memorial is as reprehensible as the many Confederate monuments being toppled around the nation.

“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today,” said Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and the president of a local activist organization called NDN Collective. “It’s an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people’s land, then carve the white faces of the colonizers who committed genocide.”

While some activists, like Tilsen, want to see the monument removed and the Black Hills returned to the Lakota, others have called for a share in the economic benefits from the region.

Trump has long shown a fascination with Mount Rushmore. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in 2018 that he once told her straight-faced that it was his dream to have his face carved into the monument. He later joked at a campaign rally about getting enshrined alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And while it was Noem, a Republican, who pushed for a return of fireworks on the eve of Independence Day, Trump committed to visiting South Dakota for the celebration.

Some wildfire experts have raised concerns the pyrotechnics could spark fires, especially because the region has seen dry weather this year. Firefighters called in crews from two other states to help Thursday as a blaze consumed approximately 150 acres (61 hectares) about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of the monument.

The four faces, carved into the mountain with dynamite and drills, are known as the “shrine to democracy.” The presidents were chosen by sculptor Gutzon Borglum for their leadership during four phases of American development: Washington led the birth of the nation; Jefferson sparked its westward expansion; Lincoln preserved the union and emancipated slaves; Roosevelt championed industrial innovation.

And yet, for many Native American people, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Omaha, Arapaho, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache, the monument is a desecration to the Black Hills, which they consider sacred. Lakota people know the area as Paha Sapa — “the heart of everything that is.”

As monuments to Confederate and Colonial leaders have been removed nationwide, some conservatives have expressed fear that Mount Rushmore could be next. Commentator Ben Shapiro this week suggested that the “woke historical revisionist priesthood” wanted to blow up the monument. Noem responded by tweeting, “Not on my watch.”

The governor told Fox News on Wednesday, “These men have flaws, obviously every leader has flaws, but we’re missing the opportunity we have in this discussion to talk about the virtues and what they brought to this country, and the fact that this is the foundation that we’re built on and the heritage we should be carrying forward.”

Tim Giago, a journalist who is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, said he doesn’t see four great American leaders when he looks at the monument; he sees four white men who either made racist remarks or initiated actions that removed Native Americans from their land. Washington and Jefferson held slaves. Lincoln, though he led the abolition of slavery, approved the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Minnesota after a violent conflict with white settlers there. Roosevelt is reported to have said, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are ...”

The monument has long been a “Rorschach test,” said John Taliaferro, author of “Great White Fathers,” a history of the monument. “All sorts of people can go there and see it in different ways.”


The monument often starts conversations on the paradox of American democracy — that a republic that promoted the ideals of freedom, determination and innovation also enslaved people and drove others from their land, he said.

“If we’re having this discussion today about what American democracy is, Mount Rushmore is really serving its purpose because that conversation goes on there,” he said. “Is it fragile? Is it permanent? Is it cracking somewhat?”

The monument was conceived in the 1920s as a tourist draw for the new fad in vacationing called the road trip. South Dakota historian Doane Robinson recruited Borglum to abandon his work creating the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia, which was to feature Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson.

Borglum was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, according to Mount Rushmore historian and writer Tom Griffith. Borglum joined the Klan to raise money for the Confederate memorial, and Griffith argues his allegiance was more practical than ideological.
Native American activists have long staged protests at the site to raise awareness of the history of the Black Hills, which were seized despite treaties with the United States protecting the land. Fifty years ago, a group of activists associated with an organization called United Native Americans climbed to the top of the monument and occupied it.

Quanah Brightman, who now runs United Native Americans, said the activism in the 1970s grew out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He hopes a similar movement for Native Americans comes from the Black Lives Matter movement.

“What people find here is the story of America — it’s multidimensional, it’s complex,” Griffith said. “It’s important to understand it was people just trying to do right as best they knew it then.”

The White House declined to comment.

Trump’s July 4 trip to Mount Rushmore draws sharp criticism from Native Americans

Many Native Americans activists say the Rushmore memorial is as reprehensible as the many Confederate monuments being toppled around the nation

Published: June 25, 2020  By Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s plans to kick off Independence Day with a showy display at Mount Rushmore are drawing sharp criticism from Native Americans who view the monument as a desecration of land violently stolen from them and used to pay homage to leaders hostile to native people.

Several groups led by Native American activists are planning protests for Trump’s July 3 visit, part of Trump’s “comeback” campaign for a nation reeling from sickness, unemployment and, recently, social unrest. The event is slated to include fighter jets thundering over the 79-year-old stone monument in South Dakota’s Black Hills and the first fireworks display at the site since 2009.

But it comes amid a national reckoning over racism and a reconsideration of the symbolism of monuments around the globe. Many Native American activists say the Rushmore memorial is as reprehensible as the many Confederate monuments being toppled around the nation.

“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today,” said Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and the president of a local activist organization called NDN Collective. “It’s an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”
While some activists, like Tilsen, want to see the monument removed altogether and the Black Hills returned to the Lakota, others have called for a share in the economic benefits from the region and the tourists it attracts.

Trump has long shown a fascination with Mount Rushmore. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in 2018 that he had once told her straight-faced it was his dream to have his face carved into the monument. He later joked at a campaign rally about getting enshrined alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And while it was Noem, a Republican, who pushed for a return of the fireworks on the eve of Independence Day, Trump joined the effort and committed to visiting South Dakota for the celebration.

The four faces, carved into the mountain with dynamite and drills, are known as the “shrine to democracy.” The presidents were chosen by sculptor Gutzon Borglum for their leadership during four phases of American development: Washington led the birth of the nation; Jefferson sparked its westward expansion; Lincoln preserved the union and emancipated slaves; Roosevelt championed industrial innovation.

And yet, for many Native American people, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Omaha, Arapaho, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache, the monument is a desecration to the Black Hills, which they consider sacred. Lakota people know the area as Paha Sapa — “the heart of everything that is.”

As monuments to Confederate and colonial leaders have been removed across U.S. cities, conservatives have expressed concern that Mount Rushmore could be next. Commentator Ben Shapiro this week suggested that the “woke historical revisionist priesthood” wanted to blow up the monument. Noem responded by tweeting, “Not on my watch.”

Tim Giago, a journalist who is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, said he doesn’t see four great American leaders when he looks at the monument, but instead four white men who either made racist remarks or initiated actions that removed Native Americans from their land. Washington and Jefferson both held slaves. Lincoln, though he led the abolition of slavery, also approved the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Minnesota after a violent conflict with white settlers there. Roosevelt is reported to have said, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every ten are..”
The monument has long been a “Rorschach test,” said John Taliaferro, author of “Great White Fathers,” a history of the monument. “All sorts of people can go there and see it in different ways.”

The monument often starts conversations on the paradox of American democracy — that a republic that promoted the ideals of freedom, determination and innovation also enslaved people and drove others from their land, he said.

“If we’re having this discussion today about what American democracy is, Mount Rushmore is really serving its purpose because that conversation goes on there,” he said. “Is it fragile? Is it permanent? Is it cracking somewhat?”

The monument was conceived in the 1920s as a tourist draw for the new fad in vacationing called the road trip. South Dakota historian Doane Robinson recruited Borglum, one of the preeminent sculptors at the time, to abandon his work creating the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia, which was to feature Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson.

Borglum was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, according to Mount Rushmore historian and writer Tom Griffith. Borglum joined the Klan to raise money for the Confederate memorial, and Griffith argues his allegiance was more practical than ideological. He left that project and instead spent years in South Dakota completing Mount Rushmore.

Native American activists have long staged protests at the site to raise awareness among the history of the Black Hills, which were taken from them despite treaties with the United States protecting the land. Fifty years ago this summer a group of activists associated with an organization called United Native Americans climbed to the top of the monument and occupied it.

Quanah Brightman, who now runs United Native Americans, said the activism in the 1970s grew out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He hopes a similar movement for Native Americans comes from the Black Lives Matter movement.

“What people find here is the story of America — it’s multidimensional, it’s complex,” Griffith said. “It’s important to understand it was people just trying to do right as best they knew it then.”

The White House had no immediate comment on criticism of the president’s planned visit.

Smithfield Foods sued over working conditions in Missouri, closes Illinois plant

Faced with a lawsuit and numerous coronavirus infections, the company says it is "proactively" 

suspending operations at one plant after being sued over working conditions at a different facility
The closed Smithfield Foods pork plant is seen as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 16, 2020.Shannon Stapleton / REUTERS

April 24, 2020, By Alicia Victoria Lozano and Reuters

Smithfield Foods Inc., the world's largest pork processor, announced Friday it is indefinitely closing an Illinois plant next week after a "small portion" of its 1,700 employees tested positive for COVID-19.

Employees will be paid during the closure, the company said in a statement.

The Monmouth plant represents approximately 3 percent of U.S. fresh pork supplies, according to Smithfield, and also produces bacon.

The news comes one day after Smithfield was accused in a lawsuit of failing to adequately protect workers at a Missouri plant who have been forced to work "shoulder to shoulder" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Virginia-based Smithfield, owned by China's WH Group, would not say how many Illinois employees were infected with coronavirus.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Missouri federal court claims Smithfield has created a "public nuisance" by providing inadequate protective equipment to workers at the plant in the town of Milan, refusing to give them time to wash their hands and discouraging workers who are ill from taking sick leave.

Workers have also been disciplined for covering their mouths while coughing or sneezing, because it could cause them to miss pieces of meat coming down the processing line, according to the complaint.

"Put simply, workers, their family members, and many others who live in Milan and in the broader community may die — all because Smithfield refused to change its practices in the face of this pandemic," the Rural Community Workers Alliance, a Missouri-based worker advocacy group, said in the complaint.

VIDEO Some workers sounding alarm over coronavirus concerns at meat facilities

APRIL 10, 2020 01:49

The group in the complaint said that conditions at the Milan plant have worsened since Smithfield shuttered other pork-processing plants in Missouri, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Keira Lombardo, executive vice president of corporate affairs and compliance at Smithfield, denied the allegations and said "the health and safety of our employees is our top priority at all times."

"The allegations contained in the complaint are without factual or legal merit and include claims previously made against the company that have been investigated and determined to be unfounded," Lombardo said. "We look forward to aggressively defending the company in court.”

More than 200 employees became infected with the coronavirus at the South Dakota slaughterhouse, which produces 4 percent to 5 percent of the nation's pork.

The group, which was joined in the lawsuit by an anonymous employee at the Milan plant, is seeking a court order requiring Smithfield to change its practices to comply with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and orders from state public health officials.

Tyson Foods Inc last week extended the closure of a pork slaughterhouse in Columbus Junction, Iowa, that it had shuttered due to coronavirus cases among employees. Companies like Cargill Inc, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co have also shut U.S. meat plants.

The complaint against Smithfield says that rather than taking additional steps to protect workers at the Milan plant, the company actually sped up the processing lines and forced employees to work in cramped conditions.

Language barriers helped turn Smithfield Foods meat plant into COVID-19 hotspot

The CDC found 40 languages are spoken at the South Dakota plant where 783 workers tested positive and two died but workers were only given informational packets in English.

 Workers walk out of Smithfield Foods pork plant as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 16, 2020.Shannon Stapleton / Reuters file

April 23, 2020, By Corky Siemaszko

Forty different languages are spoken at the South Dakota pork processing plant that has become a coronavirus hot spot, but workers who showed symptoms were sent home with informational packets that were written only in English, federal investigators revealed Thursday.

That failure to communicate may be part of the reason why 783 workers at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls have tested positive and two have died from COVID-19, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a 15-page memo.

“We understand that if an employee was found to have a fever or symptoms consistent with COVID-19, they were given an informational packet (in English) and instructed to return home,” the CDC report stated.

But “plant management reported that there were approximately 40 different languages spoken by employees at the plant.”



Inside meat processing plant linked to nearly 900 coronavirus cases APRIL 20, 2020

While English is one of “the top 10 languages,” so too are “Spanish, Kunama, Swahili, Nepali, Tigrinya, Amharic, French, Oromo and Vietnamese.”

The language barrier also stymied the CDC team of veterinary epidemiologists, industrial hygienists and others who toured the plant on April 16 and 17.

“Our team was unable to identify important demographic information about this workforce, limiting our ability to understand the diversity of the employees,” the CDC report said.

“We were also unable to obtain information about the workstations of confirmed positive cases. This type of information could provide a better understanding of what workplace factors contributed to the spread of COVID-19 among employees.”

The first plant worker tested positive on March 24, but the plant was not shut down until April 14. But before that happened, the CDC reported that workers were promised extra money if they showed up for work during the pandemic.

“Additionally we learned of a ‘responsibility bonus’ of $500 being offered to employees who did not miss time (e.g. were not late or sick) during the time period of April 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020," the report stated.

There was no immediate response from Smithfield’s CEO, Kenneth Sullivan, to the findings. The company's chief spokesperson, Keira Lombardo, said in a statement: "We will thoroughly and carefully examine the report point by point and respond in full once our assessment is complete."

VIDEO Are meat workers facing choice between health and livelihood?

 APRIL 18, 2020 07:37

Smithfield Foods is one of the biggest clusters of coronavirus cases in the country and has put an unwanted spotlight on Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who has been criticized for not issuing a shelter-at-home order in a state where as of Thursday nine deaths and 1,956 cases have been reported.

Noem has, however, urged residents to practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings.

“I want to thank Vice President Pence, Secretary of Agriculture Perdue, and the CDC for prioritizing the situation at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls,” Noem said in a statement. “Their partnership has been critical to the work that we’ve done to get this cluster under control and safeguard the health of this workforce.”

Noem also pledged that the South Dakota health department “will continue to work with Smithfield and offer any assistance we can to help them implement these CDC recommendations, so they can safely reopen this plant as soon as possible.”

Later, at a press conference, Noem said she is "anticipating" Smithfield will act on the CDC's recommendations.

Meanwhile, Tyson Foods Inc. announced it was closing a meat processing plant in Pasco, Washington that produces enough beef in one day to feed four million people.

“We’re working with local health officials to bring the plant back to full operation as soon as we believe it to be safe,” Steve Stouffer, head of Tyson Fresh Meats, said in a statement.

Tyson has already closed two pork processing plants and a chicken processing plant in Tennessee because of the coronavirus.

Experts warned that all these closures could result in meat shortages.

“Meat shortages will be occurring two weeks from now in the retail outlets,” Dennis Smith, a senior account executive at Archer Financial Services, told Bloomberg News.

More than 5,000 meat and food processing workers have been infected of exposed to COVID-19 and 13 have died since the pandemic struck, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union reported Thursday.

At Smithfield Foods in South Dakota, the CDC report suggested 11 recommendations for the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls, including speeding up the installation of plexiglass barriers on production lines, adding 100 more time clocks to prevent bottlenecks, boosting the number of hand sanitizer stations to 3,500 so there is at least one per worker, and designating staffers to roam the floor and provide hand sanitizer to workers on the line every 30 minutes.

“A combination of control measures with ongoing education and training will be useful in reducing or eliminating transmission in the workplace,” the report said. “These recommendations are intended for this specific Smithfield plant, but broader interim recommendations for meat and poultry processing industries are in development.”

The South Dakota Department of Health is requiring the company to submit a plan of action before it reopens and expects it to follow the CDC recommendations.

“For each recommendation, please indicate a timeframe for implementation,” Health Department secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon and state epidemiologist Dr. Joshua Clayton wrote in a letter dated Thursday to Sullivan.

”If a recommendation cannot be implemented or a different solution is proposed, please provide the justification,” it said.

They also asked for a date when the plant, which processes fresh pork, bacon, hot dogs, deli and smoked meats, will re-open.

Smithfield is owned by Hong Kong-based WH Group, which is the largest pork processor in the world and which also operates plants in Wisconsin, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Two of the U.S. plants were closed after workers there tested positive for the coronavirus.

Trump brings back fireworks to Mount Rushmore; faces criticism

Fireworks detonate above the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota on July 3, 2008. For the first time since then, the national memorial will host a fireworks display to mark the Fourth of July. File Photo by Mark I. Lane/U.S. Air Force | License Photo
July 1 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump is planning a triumphant return of Fourth of July fireworks at Mount Rushmore this weekend, but some activists and experts from South Dakota say they're not welcoming his visit.

Friday's event will mark the first time there's been a fireworks event at the national memorial since 2009. It was called off after that because of a mountain pine beetle infestation in the area, which left dead ponderosa pine trees susceptible to fire.

Trump is scheduled to attend, arriving in the state around 6:45 p.m. He, along with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, plan to speak at the event, which will broadcast live on television and the Internet.

Fireworks are expected to begin around 9:30 p.m. Only those with tickets will be allowed to attend the event in person.

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Some critics have expressed concern about the potential for coronavirus to spread among the attendees.

Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner told The Guardian he's worried about the influx of people to the area for the event.

"Trump coming here is a safety concern not just for my people inside and outside the reservation, but for people in the Great Plains. We have such limited resources in Black Hills, and we're already seeing infections rising," he said.

He said members of his and other Native American groups plan to protest Trump's visit to the controversial monument, which features the carved heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Tribal leaders say the creation of the monument was a violation of existing treaties between the U.S. government and tribes that live in the Black Hills.

"The lands on which that mountain is carved and the lands he's about to visit belong to the Great Sioux nation under a treaty signed in 1851 and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and I have to tell him he doesn't have permission from its original sovereign owners to enter the territory at this time," Bear Runner said.

"It's going to cause an uproar if he comes here. People are going to want to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest and we do not want to see anyone get hurt or the lands be destroyed."

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Noem said 7,500 people attending won't be required to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"We will have a large event on July 3. We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we'll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one," she said during a Fox News appearance Monday.

"But we will not be social distancing."
South Dakota has 6,826 confirmed cases of the virus with 93 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon. The state reported 48 new cases Tuesday, with a new daily case trajectory trending downward after a 249-case high May 9, according to The New York Times' tracker.

Beyond the potential health risk, though, some are concerned the fireworks show could pose a threat to the surrounding natural environment. Cheryl Schreier, who was superintendent of the national memorial from 2010 to 2019, wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, saying fireworks pose a danger to public safety, and natural and cultural resources.

She said that should there be a wildfire sparked by the fireworks or any other emergency during the event, it could be difficult to get adequate emergency services to the site in a timely manner.

"Thanks to an extremely dry summer, South Dakota faces a higher than usual risk of wildfires," Schreier wrote.

"While cities and communities across the United States are canceling their Fourth of July celebrations to adhere to social distancing guidelines and protect their citizens, Trump and Noem are actively encouraging people to gather together, all in service of an event which poses clear risks to both visitors and the environment.

"I urge them to reconsider this event for the health and safety of us all."

Meanwhile, back in Washington, D.C., the National Park Service and Interior Department planned an Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels flyover at the National Mall on Saturday.

Trump plans to make a speech on the South Lawn of the White House which will be aired on TV and the Internet. The capital's fireworks display is expected to begin around 9 p.m. and will be visible from both Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia.

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