Although Mount Rushmore has become a monument of the birth and growth of America, for the second year in a row, the Biden administration has blocked the state of South Dakota from holding a fireworks display on July 4th. 

On March 14, the South Dakota Department of Tourism was notified by the National Park Service that the permit for the fireworks show had been denied. “After careful consideration, the NPS has determined that we are unable to grant your request for this permit to hold a special event with fireworks at the Memorial.” The letter added, “Based on the information provided in the application, we have determined that multiple such criteria are present for the requested event, each of which would be independently sufficient to deny the request for a permit.”

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As for the reason behind the decision, the Park Service noted that the opposition from Native American tribes and potential wildfires were the main factors. It should be noted that the last fireworks display held at Mount Rushmore was back in 2020 when former President Donald Trump attended. It was the first time such an event had been held at Mount Rushmore since 2009. The Democrats blasted the move, saying Trump was “holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities.”

Upset about the decision, Republican Governor Kristi Noem said, “Mount Rushmore is the best place in America to celebrate our nation’s birthday – I just wish President Biden could see that. Last year, the President hypocritically held a fireworks celebration in Washington, D.C., while denying us our own event. This year, it looks like they are planning to do the same.”

The Governor concluded, “NPS announced this denial less than 24 hours after we reminded the court that this year’s permit application was still pending. Many of the reasons presented for their denial have been previously addressed, indicating that these reasons are not in good faith. We will move forward with our litigation and urge the court to help us come to a speedy resolution.”

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