Florida historian sues Miami college for allowing land to be used for Trump's presidential library

A Florida historian on Monday accused the board of Miami Dade College in a lawsuit of violating the state's 1967 Sunshine Law by donating some of its land to be the site of President Donald Trump's presidential library without input from the public. 

The board agreed to donate the land to the state of Florida last month, and the state then gave the land to a group overseeing the presidential library. The location comes after Trump changed his voter registration from New York to Florida in 2019.

The lawsuit, filed in the 11th Judicial Court of Florida and reported by The Hill, claimed that state law requires public boards or commission meetings to be open to the public, provide reasonable notice of those meetings and include recorded minutes.

The lawsuit, brought by historian Dr. Marvin Dunn, argued that the board failed to provide "adequate" notice of the meeting and that it was not a political statement.

“This action does not have to do with whether the District Board of Trustees made a wise decision," the lawsuit states. "It is not brought to lodge a political protest. Rather, it deals with the fact that, in making its decision, the District Board of Trustees unquestionably violated [the Sunshine Law]."

Dunn claimed the board's actions constituted an "egregious abuse of public trust," and that Miami land should not be used as "political gifts." 

The lawsuit comes the same day that a poll, reported by the Miami Herald, found that 74% of respondents believed the land should remain with the Florida college. 

 Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.