Attorney dressed as the Grim Reaper protests on Florida beaches

The attorney who sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in an effort to close access to the state’s beaches has taken to dressing as the Grim Reaper try to scare away beachgoers.

Daniel Uhlfelder on Friday hit the sand in a ragged black robe and hood, wielding a scythe and ominously standing behind bikini-clad residents. 

He tweeted that he began dressing as the collector of death “to remind Floridians of the importance that we stay home and protect one another.” 

Today I began touring Florida as the Grim Reaper to remind Floridians of the importance that we stay home and protect one another. This is just the beginning. Thank you for the support received from all over the world. pic.twitter.com/aVPICTxebE

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 2, 2020

Busy day pic.twitter.com/uBmjaHmp2r

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

In an interview with a local ABC affiliate that went viral on social media, Uhlfelder called the governor’s move to reopen public beaches “premature.”

“I think that the danger of bringing all the people here to our area and spreading the virus, I think it is going to prolong the recovery we have and I think that we should take better measures. Drawing people from all over the world to our beautiful beaches, it’s too soon and it’s not appropriate,” Uhlfelder said in the clip, which gained more than 7.4 million views on Twitter.

The guy in the grim reaper costume sounds like he’s making 1000x more sense than the people who reopened the beaches. pic.twitter.com/qWMHDPwS95

— Jason Kander (@JasonKander) May 1, 2020

The lawyer plans to take the Grim Reaper costume around to other Florida beaches.  

He is running an online fundraiser for “The Grim Reaper Tour” to be split among Democrats running for federal office, including those running against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Stay tuned pic.twitter.com/ajG709BZ5u

— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) May 1, 2020

Uhlfelder filed a complaint in March calling for DeSantis to be forced to close all of Florida’s beaches, not just in counties with a high influx of COVID-19 cases. A circuit judge later dismissed the lawsuit.

DeSantis faced backlash for initially refusing to issue a statewide order closing the beaches in March, leaving the decisions up to local governments as an influx of college students on spring break descended on coastal towns.

He later issued a statewide stay-at-home order on April 1 but said on April 17 that he would allow cities with beachfronts to begin opening their beaches at their own discretion.

However, the easing of restrictions still banned people from bringing towels or chairs to congregate and limited the hours. People are encouraged to go on walks or swim while maintaining proper social distancing.

Soon, thousands of people flocked to beaches in the Jacksonville, Fla., area.

Florida is approaching phase one of DeSantis’s plan to reopen the economy.

Starting Monday, Florida will allow retail stores and restaurants to open with 25 percent capacity indoors as well as outdoor seating at dining establishments with tables placed 6 feet apart. Elective surgeries, which were not deemed essential under the earlier stay-at-home order, will also be allowed. 

The Florida Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33,690 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state, with 1,268 deaths.

However, a new analysis revealed that only about 1.8 percent of the state’s 21.4 million residents have been tested for coronavirus.