A former Livingston County businessman whose battle with local officials resulted in the shuttering of his banquet hall has made international headlines after he disrupted a memorial to the victims of the New Zealand mosque attacks.

WOIO in Cleveland reports that a vigil was being held Friday at the Cleveland City Hall in memory of the 50 killed in Christchurch, New Zealand when Rob Cortis, the owner of the now-closed Barnstormers Entertainment complex in Green Oak Township, drove his “BUILD THE WALL” float past the memorial blaring music. He then reportedly made a second pass and played “God Bless America.” Cortis told the TV station that he was leaving the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his float, which formerly was decorated as the Trump Unity Bridge, when he happened to drive by city hall as the memorial was being held. The station says that the speakers, including Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, stayed on script and focused on the tragedy instead of the disruption.

Cortis is not new to headlines having made many of them with his ongoing legal fight over the former Barnstormer complex in Green Oak Township. The Barnstormer was ordered closed by the township in 2012 after it was determined to be unsafe. A lengthy legal battle ensued, including a dispute over unpaid property taxes. (JK)