South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) went on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday morning to pledge that she will be appealing a court ruling that upheld the Joe Biden administration’s decision to cancel the Fourth of July fireworks show at Mount Rushmore. She went so far as to defiantly say that the radical left “doesn’t want to celebrate America.”
“The decision was really arbitrary, that’s why we’ll be appealing this decision, and the fight isn’t over,” Noem said. “This is part of the radical left’s agenda. They don’t want to celebrate America or our freedoms. They’re pushing critical race theory. They’re pushing the 1619 Project. And this is just another one of those battles to erase our true, honest and patriotic history in this country.”
Last year, under Donald Trump, fireworks were reintroduced at Mount Rushmore for the first time since 2009. However, the National Park Service (NPS) denied Noem’s permit request earlier this year, claiming that there are health reasons relating to coronavirus, wildfire risks, environmental concerns, and ongoing construction at the national monument, which they say won’t be done by the Fourth of July.
Determined to fight for this celebration, Noem filed a lawsuit challenging the NPS decision, but an appeals court ruled yesterday that she did not meet the requirements for a ruling in the state’s favor.
Noem, however, is not having any of it.
“To shut it down at this point, saying that there could be COVID concerns, fire concerns, environmental concerns, is just not honest,” Noem said. “We’ve addressed all their concerns. We had an agreement signed and then the National Park Service decided just not to issue us the permit. That’s why we went to court.”
Noem went on to say that the decision was made because she is a Republican.
“It’s all political and punitive, and it’s ridiculous,” Noem said. “The fact that we have a judge that stood beside this political, arbitrary decision that came out of the Biden White House is unfortunate. But we do not quit. We keep fighting and this country is worth it.”
The governor’s legal team is already planning an appeal for next year’s Independence Day celebrations in 2022.
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