Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and its local chapter on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana, recently had their request for preliminary injunctive relief granted by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker in a free speech case brought by Kroger, Gardis & Regas, LLP (KGR).
The City of Bloomington’s Public Art Master Plan invites all members of the public to propose and submit public art for display in public thoroughfares. However, when TPUSA submitted a proposal to paint an “All Lives Matter Street Mural” the City of Bloomington denied the student’s request, falsely claiming the City does not accept recommendations for public art in City thoroughfares, although the City had previously approved street murals proposed by other groups.
KGR Partner Bill Bock brought suit on behalf of Indiana University student Kyle Reynolds and fellow members of the local TPUSA chapter, alleging that the City’s misrepresentation and denial of the request to paint a mural was based on dislike of the TPUSA students’ message in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment requires that when the government creates a public forum it cannot censor messages based on viewpoint.
The case is ongoing and KGR’s clients, Kyle Reynolds and his fellow TPUSA members, look forward to being allowed to express their message in the same way that other individuals and groups have been able to express their messages under the City of Bloomington’s Public Arts Master Plan. News coverage of this case can be accessed here.
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