Paddlers are so mad Trump's visits to his Virginia golf course keep shutting down the Potomac River that they're suing the administration

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Paddlers are so mad Trump's visits to his Virginia golf course keep shutting down the Potomac River that they're suing the administration

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Trump National Golf Club Sterling, Virginia

Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images

Protesters stand at the curb with signs against President Donald Trump as his motorcade departs the Trump National Golf Club on September 2, 2018 in Sterling, Virginia.

  • A group of paddlers who frequent along the Potomac River in Maryland are suing President Donald Trump and his administration.
  • They are angry that his frequent golf course visits are shutting down the river, the Washingtonian reported Thursday.
  • The Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington filed a lawsuit in Maryland accusing the administration of failing to notify residents and surrounding businesses of a policy that prevented them from using part of the river.

A group of paddlers are suing President Donald Trump and his administration for his frequent golf course visits shutting down the Potomac River, the Washingtonian reported Thursday.

The Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington filed a lawsuit in Maryland accusing the administration of failing to notify residents and surrounding businesses of a policy that prevented them from using part of the river.

The fight between paddlers and the Trump White House has been going on since the US Coast Guard implemented a temporary shutdown of the river next to Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia last summer, according to the report. The 1.6-mile stretch is roughly 30 minutes upriver from Washington.

The lawsuit specifically mentions Karl L. Schultz, who is the commandant of the Coast Guard, and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the Washingtonian reported.

It says that the Coast Guard's policy prevents the public from legally enjoying this specific area of the river when Trump was ever at his golf club. It also alleges that DHS, under the leadership of Nielsen, ignored over 600 public comments from individuals who were negatively impacted by the policy.

"The ball's been in their court for over a year," attorney Nitin Shaw told the Washingtonian. "We hope with this lawsuit they certainly do what is right and reverse this rule to accommodate the very serious ramifications on the paddling community."

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