Hundreds of people gathered for a party in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, but police failed to issue citations despite a social distancing mandate amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Videos shared on social media showed the bash on Fern Street in the east of the city with no apparent attempt to even hide what was going on at The Fashion House.
The organizers had put out flyers advertising the event at least one week before it took place and neighbors were alarmed it wasn’t prevented or shut down.
No more than 25 people are allowed to gather during the current phase 2 of shutdowns.
Videos shared on social media showed the bash in the east of Nashville, Tennessee
At least 200 attended The Fashion House event on Saturday night. They’re pictured spilling out of 21B Fern Street
However footage shows people spilling out of the building which had High Roller-branded gazebos erected and appeared packed from social media posts that showed the inside.
‘Where is the enforcement? Where are the services I am being asked to pay 30 to 35% more in property taxes to pay for?’ Hunter Kelly asked in the description of a YouTube video that showed the event.
One attendee said they were there from 11pm until 3am when police arrived. People only started leaving if their vehicle was being towed for parking violations.
Metro Nashville Police have claimed there was not much they could do because of the way government mandates have been constructed.
News Channel 5 reported that a spokesperson said unless changes are made to the city’s pandemic plan, there’s very little officers can do to enforce mandates at a private residence.
Someone claiming to be the owner of the house, which is operating as a venue for photoshoots, said in a Facebook post that they contacted the cops before hosting the party and learned it was okay.
They reassured worried neighborbors that ‘nothing illegal was done or the police would have stopped it.’
One attendee was there from 11pm and said people only started to leave at 3am because cars were being towed for parking violations. Police arrived but didn’t break up the bash
By contrast District 5 Council Member Sean Parker emailed the Metro Health Department and Metro Police ahead of the event but got no response, Fox 17 reports.
But it hasn’t stopped locals from being furious about the potential spread of the virus that has come from the gathering.
In Tennessee more than 1,000 new cases were reported overnight bringing the total to 110,645. There have been 1,093 COVID-19 deaths.
Active cases in Nashville were 4,569 the day after the party with 165 new cases since the previous days. The ages of those sick ranges from one month old to 102 years old.
‘As a Nashvillian for the past 21 years, I’ve seen this town come together to face many hardships. The flood in 2010. The tornado we had earlier this year. And now the Covid 19 pandemic,’ local resident Kelly wrote.
‘Through all of this, we have seen our citizens show up and do their part. That’s one of the things that makes this town special. So, to see a party with hundreds of people attending with no social distancing and no masks to speak of so close to my house is disturbing and also not in keeping with who we are when we are acting as our highest selves as Nashvillians.’
He added: ‘The blatant disregard for the health and wellness of human beings is maddening.’
Kelly also called the failure of sponsor brands to provide people with masks ‘a missed branding opportunity in the middle of a train wreck of a super spreader event.’
The organizers had put out flyers advertising the event at least one week before it took place and neighbors were alarmed it wasn’t prevented or shut down
Sean Parker said: ‘This is a finger in the eye to every one of us who have been sacrificing, everyone who has lost income, who hasn’t had a haircut, who hasn’t gone out to eat’
Council member Parker added that he didn’t expect cops to cite every single person at the event but didn’t know why they couldn’t stop the gathering of at least 200 people.
‘This is a finger in the eye to every one of us who have been sacrificing, everyone who has lost income, who hasn’t had a haircut, who hasn’t gone out to eat,’ Parker said.
Not all neighbors saw it as a bad thing though. One man joined after noticing what was going on from across the street and said he’s ‘still recovering’ from the abundance of what he experienced at 21B.
‘There was just tons of everything. Whatever you can think of a party, just times 20,’ the man named Andy told News Channel 5.
‘I mean there’s the usual risk that you take when you’re around a group of people, just like getting trampled or something.
‘But I didn’t see any concerns really. I was just there to have a good time.’
Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s office said on Monday that it is reviewing the actions of the police department.
They confirmed the party was ‘in clear violation of Metro’s Modified Phase Two public health order.’ The organizer is also being investigated.
Metro Codes has confirmed through the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website that The Fashion House is an active LLC,’ the statement read.
‘We have posted a Stop Use Order on this property for illegally operating a commercial business in a residential district. We will continue with our investigation and provide updates as they become available.
