Image Credit: Justin Pearson / Facebook & Canva.
Article by Olivia Lupia, Tennessee Conservative News –
After being banned from the next two Memphis City Council meetings for leading disruptions that caused a meeting on Oct. 6 to be adjourned early as members were antagonized and chaos broke out, state Representative and congressional candidate Justin Pearson has filed a federal suit alongside several others who were suspended, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated.
Pearson and six other plaintiffs, including Pearson’s brother and mother, were issued suspensions from the City Council meetings on Oct. 20 and Nov. 10. They are now filing suit against the Memphis City Council and Councilwoman Jana Swearengen Washington in her capacity as council chair for issuing the bans.
“The bans that have happened against myself, fellow community organizers, and leaders are a direct contradiction to the rights and protections that we as citizens of this city are supposed to have,” Pearson said at a press conference last Thursday. “From threatening bans, to actually banning people, to silencing people’s mics, these all have a deleterious impact on the democracy that we hold sacred.”
The suit alleges the City Council’s “Speech Restriction Policy” has “maintained an unconstitutional policy restricting speech- including prohibiting gossip, personal attacks, and vulgar language- that limits public participation in violation of the First Amendment.”
Pearson argues the policy is too vague and ambiguous, therefore leaving “Plaintiffs uncertain about its meaning and unsure how to comply, forcing them to self-censor.”
He has also maintained that the suspension letter from the council did not clearly articulate “what actions I personally took that were in violation, in any shape or form, within the meeting,” despite images showing Pearson using a megaphone to lead the crowd in chants against councilmembers after they delayed a vote on data center regulations.
The Council’s Rules of Procedure include a section on “decorum” which says persons participating in public comment “shall do so in an orderly manner and shall not make personal impertinent, slanderous or profane remarks to any member of the Council, staff or general public.” Anyone who “makes such remarks, or who utters loud, threatening, personal or abusive language, or engages in any other disorderly conduct which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes” a meeting can be barred from further participating in that meeting.
And though there do not appear to be precise guidelines for banning someone from future meetings, city attorney Allan Wade has maintained the bans for the two future meetings are “totally consistent with our rules of procedures.”
Pearson’s suit is seeking a Temporary Restraining Order to allow the banned parties to attend the Oct. 20 meeting and a declaration that the Speech Restriction Policy “violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution because its terms are vague and overbroad.”
And as the suit specifically names the City of Memphis, the Memphis City Council and Chair Washington in their official capacities, Memphis taxpayers, Pearson’s own constituents and those he is asking to support his congressional bid, will ultimately end up footing the bill for defense against his claims.
When a local government entity is itself sued, public funds, either directly from the city budget or through municipal liability insurance, will cover the legal representation by the City Attorney’s Office or any necessary external private attorneys to handle the matter if there is a conflict of interest.
This means that while Pearson and the other plaintiffs are contending they are advocating for their rights and the rights of the public, they will ultimately be costing those same people money for the Council to defend itself against the problematic behavior which led to the banning in the first place.
Sources:
WSMV.
WREG.
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About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
3 Responses
Folks, is this the type of people you want running our government? How do you think he would treat someone who stood up for conservative values and spoke or was Pro-Life? Would he tolerate the same behavior?
Get out and vote…no excuses!
Obnoxious clown.
Paid agitator and disruptor. That’s all they are. Living off the hard working taxpayers of Tennessee. Get out and vote for somebody that will actually put your tax dollars to good use. Not these fraudsters.
In God we trust not government or man.
Have a blessed day.