The ACLU of Indiana filed suit Thursday in U.S. District Court against the City of Loogootee on behalf of the sponsors of PrideFest 2024.
After initially approving a permit for PrideFest 2024 to take place on September 7th, the Loogootee City Council has since passed two new ordinances changing the application process for using city property, rescinded its prior approval of PrideFest 2024, and failed to vote on the new application the sponsors submitted in February 2024.
The First Amendment lawsuit filed Thursday calls for the court to enjoin Loogootee’s Special Events Ordinance and allow plaintiffs to hold PrideFest 2024 at the Public Square on September 7th.
ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk says the City of Loogootee’s revocation of its November 2023 permission to hold PrideFest 2024 and its actions since that time violate the First Amendment to the united states constitution. The latest city special events ordinance is unconstitutional in many ways. It, and the actions of the city council, clearly indicate that Councilmembers are trying to deny our plaintiffs the ability to hold their event because they disagree with a celebration of the lfbtq community
