Is the Kennedy Center closed? Question hangs over arts institution as judge orders update
By Sunlen Serfaty, Boer Deng, CNN
(CNN) — One day after a dramatic meeting of the arts institution’s Board of Trustees, during which members – many of whom are allies of President Donald Trump – voted to close its doors, lights inside the Kennedy Center’s main building appeared to have been turned off.
The doors had been locked at 6 p.m. Tuesday night and bike racks were stacked up by entrances to block public access.
But officially closing the public monument would violate a court order requiring it remain open as a lawsuit brought by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty continues.
On Wednesday, US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper, in response to an appeal for an emergency hearing filed by Beatty, ordered the Trump administration to answer questions over the status of the building by Thursday at 10 a.m ET.
Beatty issued the request after a member of her legal team was denied entry to the main building and “was informed by several security staff members that the building is currently closed to the public,” her attorneys said in a court filing.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center told CNN the building was “temporarily” closed due to safety concerns. But Beatty’s lawyers said that when they asked for an explanation from the Justice Department, they did not receive a reply – a violation of the court order, they contend.
When CNN visited on Wednesday, no signage was visible indicating any change of status to the main building – despite the fences and barricades over the doors.
A few security guards were outside as construction crews worked outside the building, where a fence with white curtains had been erected.
Outside the main building, the digital advertising boards still hype upcoming shows, and a landscaper was pruning the hedges. Employees came and went through a parking garage entrance. One of them told CNN that their badge worked for getting into the building – but only on the side doors.
A lone protestor stood outside with a sign that said: “There is still an injunction, remember?” And “shame on the Trump board.”
The relative calm of the scene belies the drama that is expected to continue in the days to come.
The Justice Department has said it plans by Friday to appeal the court’s decision forcing it to remain open, while Trump has warned that the center may not reopen unless his name can be affixed to the building.
Meanwhile, an annex of the Kennedy Center, a separate arts space known as The Reach, remains open.
On Wednesday, the song “Jolene” was being played. A Dolly Parton celebration is planned for September 25.
When asked if it will remain open, a worker there replied, dryly: “We have no idea.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
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