Gov. Cooper to Alamance County: Enforce order at racetrack or the state will
Gov. Roy Cooper had strong words Monday for Alamance County officials who have not enforced the state’s mass-gathering order at Ace Speedway, a racetrack that has allowed thousands of spectators to sit close together and mostly unmasked in stands for three straight weekends.
The state is ready to take action if Alamance County officials don’t, Cooper said at a press briefing.
Last week, Cooper told Alamance officials they should enforce the order that limits outdoor gatherings to 25 people as part of the state’s efforts to combat the coronavirus. Sheriff Terry Johnson did not agree with the order but said his officers would be there to enforce it.
But on Saturday, the speedway posted a sign out front saying the race was a “protest,” a reference to gatherings taking place over the past week in Raleigh and other cities to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis.
The sign read: “This Event is held in Peaceful Protest of Injustice and Inequality Everywhere. — Ace Speedway.”
Cooper calls mass gatherings at speedway ‘reckless’
A reporter from a Gannett newspaper was at the racetrack and said at least 2,000 people were in the stands.
When asked about the race being held in the name of “protest,” Cooper warned that the state is ready to take action.
“People shouldn’t run a money-making operation that puts in danger not only their customers but people who come in contact with their customers,” Cooper said. “This is a reckless decision being made by the owners, pulling people together in that way that can cause spread of the virus.
“Alamance County is one of the counties that is having higher numbers than it should have, and we look forward to taking some action on this in the coming week,” he said. “It’s concerning that Alamance officials have not been able to stop this. We would hope that they could, but if they can’t then the state will have to take action — which we will do this week if the local officials don’t.”
Johnson responded with a statement Monday evening, saying he will not issue a citation to the racetrack owner because he feels Alamance County citizens are being “singled out” by the state.
Johnson said “numerous speedways and Go Cart Tracks” ran in North Carolina this weekend with no warnings from the state. He said his decision to deny the governor’s request is not politically motivated.
“I assure you that I respect the Office of the Governor of North Carolina but I have serious reservations on the legality of his order,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson acknowledged that the governor has the right to issue an injunction against Ace Speedway, and that it is also within the governor’s authority to send a state law enforcement agency to issue a citation to the track’s owner.
“My understanding of the law and the conflicting orders issued by the Governor, leads me to question my authority on writing a citation to Mr. Robert Turner, owner of ACE Speedway,” the statement ended.
According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, 494 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Alamance County as of Monday. The county has a population of 169,509 people.
A letter from the governor’s office to Alamance County officials last week said Burlington, the largest city in Alamance County, “has one of the highest average daily growth rates of coronavirus deaths in the country and recently topped the list with the number of COVID-19 deaths doubling every 6.7 days.”
“That fast-rising death rate indicates that COVID-19 has likely been spread widely in recent weeks among Alamance County residents,” the letter stated.
The county has experienced a 101% increase in cases from May 22, when the state entered Phase 2, to Monday. DHHS figures showed the county had 246 cases on May 22.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 4:35 PM.
