An emergency motion that would have exempted several Walton County property owners from the order closing the county’s beaches has been declined by Federal Judge Roger Vinson. The original suit was filed April 6th, four days after the Walton County Commission voted in emergency session to amend a standing ordinance and close privately owned as well as public beaches to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Attorneys for the beach owners, which include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, had argued that the county used its amended ordinance to seize private property. The County argued that the closing.
