According to the lawsuit, the city has permitted nonprofit organizations to rent out downtown lampposts to display banners since at least 1998. These banners are paid for by organizations that use them to promote themselves or events they’re hosting. However, the city of Fort Worth has denied the atheist group’s use of the lampposts to advertise an event it's hosting in August.
This is a violation of Metroplex Atheists’ First Amendment rights, the group says.
Nick Fish, president of the national group American Atheists, which is helping with the suit, told the Observer that litigation is always a last resort. “The Metroplex Atheists, the group itself, has spent months trying to work with the city to make sure their application dotted every i and crossed every t,” he said. “When the city was giving them the runaround, we [American Atheists] spoke with them repeatedly.”
In an emailed statement, the city of Fort Worth said, “The City is aware of the lawsuit, believes that it acted appropriately and will defend its position in court.”
The city’s policy on these banners stipulates that if an event is being promoted, it must take place in Fort Worth and be open to the general public, be of common interest to the general community and recognize and/or contribute to the cultural fabric of the city. Such events can include but are not limited to arts and entertainment, education-related activity, sports contests or public concerts.
The lampposts to which the banners are affixed are considered a public forum and, as such, the city can’t exclude certain speech just because it disapproves of it, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also names Downtown Fort Worth Inc., the organization that manages the lampposts. Organizations that want to use the lampposts must provide Downtown Fort Worth Inc. with the description, location and date of the event, requested dates for the banner display and proof that the organization is a nonprofit. If the dates are available, Downtown Fort Worth Inc. will usually provide a contract confirming the details to be signed by whatever organization is responsible for the banners.“We think we’re on incredibly solid legal footing here.” – Nick Fish, American Atheists
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The city has allowed banners for a variety of occasions, including religious events, according to the suit. For example, in the summer of 2020, Kenneth Copeland Ministries used the lampposts to promote its Southwest Believes Convention. According to the lawsuit, the city also regularly approves banner displays for other religiously affiliated organizations and institutions, such as Texas Christian University.
Metroplex Atheists hasn’t always had this issue with the city. In the summer of 2019, they were given access to the lampposts to promote an event called In NO God We Trust, which was held at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. It was open to the public and presented several speakers. Banners for the event were displayed in downtown Fort Worth for weeks.
The banners got some media attention and provoked a number of complaints, according to the suit. “But the city stood firm in protecting Metroplex Atheists’ First Amendment rights,” the suit said. Then-Mayor Betsy Price wrote on Twitter, “While many of us may not agree with the message, the organization did follow policies and procedures … We must respect freedom of speech.”
According to the lawsuit, the city’s official statement on the 2019 banners said “[i]f an organization meets the established criteria for purchasing the banners, the city cannot discriminate or dictate the content unless it contains profanity, threats, or other inappropriate images.”
Around 200 people attended the 2019 event.
Ahead of a planned 2023 event, Metroplex Atheists reached out to Downtown Fort Worth Inc. in October 2022 to ask about reserving the lampposts for some banners. The event would focus on Christian nationalism and keeping prayer out of public schools and would include as speakers Dr. Bradley Onishi, a religious scholar, and Reverend Dr. Katie Hays, a Christian pastor. The event is set to be held on August 26.
Metroplex Atheists provided Downtown Fort Worth Inc. with the date of the event, the venue, planned banner artwork, and proof that it was a nonprofit. After sending along all the needed information on November 30, the group thought the banners were set to be displayed. But in May of this year, it was told the banner request was denied by the city manager’s office and that the policy had been tweaked since they last used it in 2019. No additional information was offered.
The group was directed to the city manager’s office for more details. In a meeting with the Assistant City Manager, William Johnson, on May 30, the group learned that its application had been denied because the event was not of a magnitude to qualify, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that the city’s banner policy makes no reference to the expected magnitude of any event being promoted.“No one wants to have to fight for their freedom everyday." – Umair Khan, Metroplex Atheists
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“It was really shocking to us when it happened because we made sure we met all the requirements,” Umair Khan, president of Metroplex Atheists, told the Observer. “How are we supposed to meet a criteria that doesn’t exist in the requirements?” Khan called the city’s move an overreach of its authority.
The group then filed records requests pertaining to all nonprofits that applied to use the lampposts from 2022 to the present day. They also wanted to see any emails relevant to their event and to the banner application. The city has yet to turn over any records.
Metroplex Atheists then tried to appeal the decision on its banner application but didn’t receive a response. The group then sent an email to the city saying that the denial was a violation of its First Amendment rights and requested that it be rescinded. The email also said the group was prepared to pursue legal action against the city.
That’s when the city responded and said the denial of the banner application would be discussed in an executive session by the Fort Worth City Council on June 27. After that meeting, the group received an email that read: "The original denial will be upheld. A moratorium on new banners will be issued while the city reviews the existing policy for updates."
The city put a hold on approving any new banner applications until the city council can review the policy for potential updates. All previously approved banners will go up as planned and won’t be considered under the “tweaked” banner policy used to deny Metroplex Atheists, according to the suit.
“We think we’re on incredibly solid legal footing here,” Fish said.
He said the group has applied for a preliminary injunction to require the city to allow the banners to go up ahead of the August 26 event. “We want to make sure that our folks on the ground have every opportunity to get their message out there and to use this policy as it exists,” he said. “The number one thing we care about is protecting our folks’ rights, but it is costly and it costs the city nothing to just allow the banners to go up.”
He said the suit could end up being especially costly for Fort Worth in the end, however, if the city loses. “Instead they’re deciding to do something that is blatantly unconstitutional,” he said.
Khan said he thinks the whole ordeal shows that there’s still a need for a conversation about how religious freedom extends to all religious beliefs, including atheism. “It really is troubling that we’re still dealing with these issues,” Khan said. “No one wants to have to fight for their freedom every day. That’s the point of having a government, to enshrine democratic freedoms for all.”
