August 13, 2020

By Emily Singer

American Independent Foundation

Multiple high-profile visitors to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., have posted photos of themselves inside the building breaking city regulations meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus — rule violations that could lead to thousands of dollars in fines.

Current and former Trump administration officials, as well as GOP lawmakers and other Republican media personalities, have posted photos of themselves to social media inside the hotel’s common spaces without wearing masks or maintaining six feet of space between other guests.

The photos were taken at events and posted after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an order this spring requiring masks to be worn inside of hotel common spaces and for visitors inside those spaces to maintain six feet of distance from people who are not members of their own household.

Bowser’s order says that anyone violating the order “may be subject to criminal, and administrative penalties” that include fines, as well as suspensions or revocations of operating licenses.

The Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., was already investigated for violating the order in July after Trump was photographed not wearing a mask in the lobby of the hotel, the Washington Post reported. However, the investigator did not see violations at the time of the inspection.

Since then, multiple more high-profile hotel visitors have been photographed violating the order.

A woman posted a photo on Tuesday with pro-Trump pundit and frequent Fox News guest Harlan Hill and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. None of the three are wearing masks.

Former Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was photographed at the hotel bar with his wife and another woman without masks on July 28.

Also on July 28, conservative activist Erin Elmore posted a photo with conservative instigator Charlie Kirk and former Trump administration official Seb Gorka all huddled together in the hotel without masks.

The same day, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) posted a photo of himself along with Alabama GOP Senate nominee Tommy Tuberville inside the lobby of Trump’s D.C. hotel. Neither man was wearing a mask, nor were they adhering to the six-feet social distancing rule.

It’s not just high-profile guests violating the order.

A look through Instagram’s location tag at the hotel shows numerous violations, with guests not wearing masks or social distancing in the hotel’s public spaces.

Bowser’s office did not immediately return a request for comment about whether the city is aware of the violations and if there are any plans to punish the hotel for violating the orders.

The Trump Organization did not return a request for comment on whether it was aware of the violations or the steps it was taking to ensure guests followed the policy.

Posted under Creative Commons license