PETALING JAYA, April 24 — Beachgoers in Florida can expect to see an eerie sight next month when lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder starts patrolling the seaside in a Grim Reaper costume.
In a series of Twitter posts, Uhlfelder said he intended to protest the reopening of the state’s beaches and remind people about the dangers of flouting social distancing rules amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Florida alone has more than 29,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.
Describing the reopening of beaches as “premature”, Uhlfelder added that he had already ordered his costume and plans to start donning the creepy get-up come May 1.
Many of you have asked if I am willing to travel around Florida wearing Grim Reaper attire to the beaches and other areas of the state opening up prematurely. The answer is absolutely yes. Beginning May 1 we will hit the road here in state. Please retweet and spread the word. pic.twitter.com/UO7QKg161n
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) April 22, 2020
He’s also planning a fundraiser to support Democratic candidates running for federal office and has managed to collect US$5,700 (RM24,800) of the US$20,000 goal so far.
Uhlfelder previously locked horns with Florida governor Ron DeSantis when he sued him in an attempt to get the state’s beaches closed.
The beaches eventually shut its doors to visitors, though not as a result of the lawsuit, only for them to reopen weeks later.
Many social media users applauded Uhlfelder’s idea and pointed out that he may have been inspired by a similar public service campaign in New Zealand.
The 2017 campaign involved a person dressed as the Grim Reaper who lurks around beaches to promote water safety and hopefully prevent deaths by drowning.
