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A dramatic bid to block Donald Trump's presidential library from being built in Miami is being masterminded by an 85-year-old retired professor who has repeatedly compared the Republican to Adolf Hitler. Dr. Marvin Dunn, 85, who has claimed Trump's use of the state to target political enemies is 'no different' from the German dictator, launched the legal case that is threatening to upend ambitious plans for the commander in chief's legacy. It makes Trump the latest president to face problems over his library, which is expected to house a massive archive of two terms of records and artifacts, including a plane used as Air Force One. Barack Obama's $850 million planned center in Chicago has been hit by soaring costs and likened to the 'Death Star' from Star Wars. And Joe Biden is facing humiliation as some Democratic donors suggest his will never happen at all. Last month, the state of Florida approved a plan to donate a site in downtown Miami for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library. The 2.63-acre property next to the historic Freedom Tower is a developer's dream, one of the last undeveloped lots on an iconic stretch of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard with waterfront views. It is currently used as an employee parking lot for the state-run Miami Dade College's Wolfson campus. On September 23, the school's Board of Trustees held a special meeting and voted to give the land, which has an appraised value of $66 million, to the state of Florida. The state, comprising Governor Ron DeSantis and his cabinet, then voted to transfer it to the foundation for the planned library, which is headed by Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump's husband Michael Boulos. Dr. Dunn, a progressive Democrat, then filed a 109-page lawsuit against the college arguing that the board violated Florida’s 'Government in the Sunshine' law by not providing enough notice for its special meeting. On October 14, a judge temporarily blocked the planned transfer of the land, and signaled Dr. Dunn could win the case. During the court hearing lawyers for the college claimed the lawsuit was politically motivated. They suggested that one of Dr. Dunn’s social media posts amounted to a 'threat to the president’s life,' according to a court report by the Miami Herald. Dr. Dunn, who was in court, reportedly replied: 'Of course not, that’s ridiculous. I resent that. I respect the law, I thoroughly resent that. How dare you suggest that of me?' It was unclear which of Dr. Dunn's posts the lawyers were referring to. Judge Mavel Ruiz said: 'It’s irrelevant. What is relevant here is whether the notice was sufficient to inform the public (about the transfer of the library site).' Dr. Dunn is a former naval officer and academic who was professor emeritus at Florida International University, where he chaired the psychology department. He runs 'Teach the Truth' tours to sites of historic racial violence in Florida, and has published books about African American history. His X feed includes a series of posts about Trump, including one calling the president a 'pig.' On September 24, the day after the Board of Trustees meeting, he posted a picture of Adolf Hitler and commented: 'He used the power of the state to prosecute his political enemies and these dumb ass Republicans today don't want to see Trump is no different.' Dunn added that Trump's library would be 'about the size of a telephone booth since the only book it will need is "Mein Kampf".' Two days earlier, he had posted: 'This is my last warning Donald. Don’t make me have to come up there and kick your ass.' In another tweet about plans for a national day of remembrance for the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, he posted an image of a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood. On September 15, five days after Kirk's assassination, he reposted someone else's comment that said: 'Sorry, but I cannot mourn this man.' Two days later, he posted: 'I will go to the Florida International University Black History Learning Tree tomorrow and say whatever I please about the death of Charlie Kirk. (Anyone who don't like it can kiss my ass.)' Later that day, he added: 'I am angry at the man that killed Charlie Kirk. He had no right, and Charlie had the right to speak truth as he saw it. This is America. But Charlie is dead, and we must move on, or this thing will tear us apart. That said, IF I was happy to see Charlie dead that too is my right.' According to a poll Trump also faces a battle in the court of public opinion over the library site. A poll showed only 15 percent of people in Miami-Dade County believe the college should have handed over the land for the library, and 74 percent thought it should have kept the plot. Even a majority of Republicans, 59 percent, thought the college should have kept the land, according to the poll carried out by Bendixen & Amandi. Dr. Dunn has argued that the land is being 'stolen from students.' In the lawsuit he said: 'The thing about this that really hurts me and outrages me is that they’re taking land from our kids and giving it to someone for commercial, economic development.' The land's actual market value, as opposed to the official appraised value, could be $360 million, the lawsuit said. The college bought it for $25 million in 2004. It said: 'Irrespective of the specific circumstances of this giveaway, the speedy and uncritical transfer of the land to the state for nothing, without any serious deliberation, without any economic analysis...solely because the Governor or the President, or both, wanted the District Board to do so, was a violation of the duty of care owed to the College by the Board members.' At the two-hour court hearing on October 14, Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz ruled that the college did not give the public reasonable notice ahead of the Board of Trustees vote, violating the Government in the Sunshine law. She said: 'This is not an easy decision. This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics. 'The court does not believe that the notice was reasonable.' In an agenda released before the meeting information was given to the public that the board would 'discuss potential real estate transactions,' but it did not specify that it was the valuable Biscayne Boulevard parking lot. The meeting was held at 8am and, unlike all other board meetings, was not livestreamed. Jesus Suarez, a lawyer for the college, told the court: 'There is no requirement under Florida law that there be specificity on notice, because those trustees can come into that room and talk to each other about whatever they wish.' Lawyers for Dr. Dunn maintained that no one who wasn’t already in on the deal could have known what the board would do. Javier Ley-Soto, general counsel for Miami Dade College, testified that the school has yet to finalize the land transfer to the state. He estimated that delays caused by an injunction could cost the college up to $300,000. The site of the proposed library is in Florida's 27th congressional district, which is represented by Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican, who backed the library. She said: 'It is the ideal place so we welcome him in my district and next to the Freedom Tower, which is the Ellis Island of South Florida.' However, Randy Fine, a Republican representing Florida's 6th district, slammed the judge and claimed she was 'another liberal.' Judge Ruiz was elected in a nonpartisan primary election in 2014 and reelected in 2020 for a six-year term, again serving as a nonpartisan judge. She appears to have not been involved in any previous nationally-watched cases Following her decision Miami Dade College can keep trying to argue that sufficient advance information was given to the public about the transfer of the proposed library site. Or, as the lawsuit demands, it can hold another public meeting at which there would undoubtedly be vocal opposition.
