A D.C. fireworks wholesaler is suing Mayor Muriel Bowser and Vincent Parker, an administrator with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, over claims that he and other fireworks vendors were wrongfully denied business licenses. He says this is the first time he’s been denied a license since he started selling fireworks more than 20 years ago.

James Peters, owner of Capitol Works, Inc., typically sells fireworks to 27 vendors in D.C. He and the other vendors reached out to DCRA about the status of their temporary business licenses in early May, according to the lawsuit. Peters claims that while he and the vendors have been denied licenses, Costco is still allowed to sell fireworks in the area. (The complaint refers to Costco as “Big Box Business Costco.”)

Capitol Works is suing on claims of discrimination and a violation of decision making under the D.C. Administrative Procedure Act. Though Capitol Works is the only plaintiff in the suit, Peters—who is Black—tells DCist that the 27 vendors he works with—many of whom are based in wards 7 and 8—have also been denied permits this year. He says he is not aware of any other suits filed by vendors.

The civil suit, filed in the D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday, alleges that DCRA replied to inquiries about the permits more than a month after in an email sent June 17, saying it wouldn’t be issuing any temporary fireworks business licenses this year “due to the public health emergency and the demonstrations happening around the city.”

“The decision is being made in order to ensure public safety and address concerns raised from the community,” Vincent Parker wrote in the email, according to Peters. “We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the retailers, but public safety is our [number one] priority.”

Peters says that besides Costco, he’s the only licensed fireworks wholesaler in the District and that without his business, people will flock to vendors in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to buy illegal fireworks.

A lifelong D.C. resident and U.S. Air Force veteran, Peters joined the D.C. fire department as an inspector in the 1980s and learned about the fireworks industry from the regulatory side. He started his fireworks business in 1997. Peters says he’s been selling fireworks to Black business owners for decades, and says the permit denial is a case of discrimination.

“I’ve put my whole life into doing this,” Peters tells DCist. “But if my vendors don’t have licenses to sell, my wholesale license is not worth the paper it’s written on.”

To sell fireworks, a retailer requires both a business license from DCRA, as well as an inspection and permit from the D.C. Fire Marshal’s office.

With the Fourth of July holiday weekend just a week away, the vendors are scrambling to find a solution during a season when they normally would have done most of their business, says Johnny Barnes, the lawyer representing Capitol Works in the lawsuit.

“In this case Capitol Works and other minority vendors have for past three decades uneventfully sold fireworks during this season, and they had done reasonably well as entrepreneurs,” says Barnes. “Suddenly out of the blue, without any reasonable explanation, DCRA says ‘We’re not going to license you’ … If the demonstrations are the problem, why then are you letting Costco sell them?”

Peters has already purchased more than $150,000 worth of fireworks this year, he says. They’re all stored in his warehouse in Ward 5 but won’t be going anywhere unless the city reverses its decision. Peters plans to invite Bowser and D.C. Council members to his warehouse this weekend, “because I don’t think they really understand how this process works,” he says.

Fireworks complaints have reportedly skyrocketed in D.C.—up nearly 250 from last June by one count—and D.C. isn’t alone. In nearby Montgomery County, where all consumer fireworks and sparklers are illegal, there have been a record number of fireworks complaints.

“Fireworks can be very triggering for folks who have been exposed to gun violence,” the Washington Post’s Marissa Lang tweeted on Tuesday night. “Protesters just set off several big ones at #BlackLivesMatter Plaza. The group I was with contained at least one Parkland shooting survivor. She’s now having a panic attack.”

Across social media, people are addressing similar concerns in other cities, including New York and Los Angeles. Some have even tossed around conspiracy theories, citing more malicious motives for the fireworks. The D.C. Office of Unified Communications didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the spike in complaints.

Major nationwide wholesaler Phantom Fireworks is having a record year in sales. With people stuck at home during the pandemic, “there’s nothing else to do,” a Phantom Fireworks spokesperson told NBC 4.

With new cases of COVID-19 still being reported by the dozens in D.C., Mayor Bowser is urging residents to watch the Fourth of July fireworks display from home in small groups. Addressing a question about DCRA’s permit block in a press briefing Thursday, Bowser said she needed to look into the issue further.

“I need to get more information from the department,” Bowser said. “So is it possible that I adjust that decision? It’s possible. But I wouldn’t say it was likely.”

A spokesperson told DCist later on Thursday that the mayor’s office was still reviewing the situation and added that the office doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation. A DCRA spokesperson referred to Bowser’s press briefing when asked about the lawsuit, and declined to comment further.

Peters says an emergency court hearing is scheduled for June 30 as he seeks a temporary restraining order to continue retail operations this year.

Read the full lawsuit below:

Capitol Works Civil Suit vs… by Elliot Williams on Scribd