The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) was founded in 1990 with the mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms.
Under the leadership of Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the organization engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe.
ACLJ has taken on the case of Ms. Rosanna Pulido, a resident of Springfield, Illinois, who “faced outrageous restrictions on her freedom of expression at a city council meeting.”
According to ACLJ, Ms. Pulido attended a Springfield City Council meeting on October 29, 2024, sporting a “Chicanos for Trump” T-shirt.
Despite her peaceful and orderly participation, exercising her free speech was too much for the council, and she was singled out by a Springfield alderwoman, who claimed the shirt violated a policy against “campaign materials” in the council chambers.
She was then forced to either turn her shirt inside out or cover the message.
As ACLJ notes, this rule is nowhere to be found in writing and, although Ms. Pulido wrote to the city council and to the city’s attorney asking what law was being enforced, she received no reply.
Further, the rule is completely unconstitutional: Citizens can wear campaign T-shirts in public places.
The right to free speech, especially political speech, is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Supreme Court has consistently upheld that restrictions on speech in public forums must meet strict scrutiny. In this case, the Springfield City Council’s actions were not only unjust but also lacked any legal foundation. By standing up for Ms. Pulido, we are defending the broader principle that all citizens have the right to express their views without undue interference.
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The government can’t regulate your speech’s content, period. When the city council opened up its doors to public participation, it included all voices, even “Chicanos for Trump.” Springfield City Council can’t pick which voices are heard, especially during the critical days leading up to important federal elections.
For those reasons, ACLJ sent a letter to the Springfield City Council demanding that it apologize to our client and promise to not do this again to anyone. If the council cannot commit to allowing free expression at its council meetings, the ACLJ is prepared to follow up with a lawsuit in federal court, making sure that Springfield’s citizens’ First Amendment liberties are protected.
American citizens have the right to express their views without gov’t interference. A city council demanded that our client Rosanna Pulido cover her pro-Trump shirt, violating her freedom of expression.
We sent a demand letter to the city council. Read: https://t.co/3NHDOCJP2W
— Jay Sekulow (@JaySekulow) January 17, 2025
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