For Immediate Release
contact: Anthony Rothert, Legal Director
314-361-2111 tony@aclu-em.org ;
ACLU Challenges
Removal of Placards from Metrolink
ST. LOUIS, January 27, 2006 -- Bi-State Development Agency violated the
Constitution when it removed advertising placards purchased by the National
Alliance according to a lawsuit filed the American Civil Liberties Union of
Eastern Missouri this week with the U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
National
Alliance, a
national organization that says its goal is to preserve the white race, placed
innocuous advertisements on Metrolink trains in January 2005. Metro, the agency that runs Metrolink for
Bi-State, agreed to post signs that read:
“The
Future belongs to us! National
Alliance" The sign includes their website and phone number.
According to the
suit, Metro removed the advertisements after an anonymous complaint about the
viewpoint of the National Alliance.
Metro refused to place any further placards from the National Alliance
on the grounds that the advertising was “too controversial.”
“Metro
violates both the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States
Constitution by refusing the National Alliance advertisement placards on the
grounds of its political philosophy, message and identity,” according to the
complaint filed by ACLU cooperating attorney Robert Herman.
“Metro’s
decision that the National Alliance’s ads are too controversial is completely
arbitrary,” said Brenda Jones,
executive director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. “The Supreme Court has made clear that the
public expression of ideas cannot be prohibited simply because the ideas or the
speakers of the ideas are offensive
“The
First Amendment exists precisely to protect the most offensive and
controversial speech from government suppression. The best way to counter
obnoxious speech is with more speech. Persuasion, not coercion, is the
solution,” said Rothert. “Courts do not allow government agencies like Metro to
ban the expression of ideas just because some riders will find it offensive or
disagreeable.”
The
lawsuit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining Bi-State from
continuing to refuse to accept and post National Alliance’s advertising. It
also seeks declaratory judgment that the agency’s actions violate the
Constitution.
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