"Even after the initial violence subsided, local officials engaged in actions that exacerbated the harm. State and local officials participated in the mass arrests and detention of Greenwood residents, and black detainees could only be released upon the application of a white person," the opinion says.

However, the court did not find that the survivors and their attorneys presented a "conflict resolvable by way of abatement."

"Though Plaintiffs' grievances are legitimate, they do not fall within the scope of our State's public nuisance statute."

House Republicans closed the public gallery prior to the vote, instead requiring members of the public to watch the debate on televisions in separate rooms. Rep. Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert) pointed to security concerns,** citing protests that disrupted a Senate hearing** on the same bill. 

But critics said that’s a double standard, pointing to raucous conduct by people opposed to a repeal of the state’s near-total abortion ban who were allowed to stay in the gallery in May.](https://x.com/WayneSchutsky/status/1785701872978079891)**.)