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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have filed a federal lawsuit against two Utah Transit Authority officers for ordering PETA workers to stop distributing leaflets at a TRAX station in downtown Salt Lake City.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, alleges officers Jordan Hamilton and Connor Macke impeded the free speech rights of the PETA workers, who on Sept. 22 were calling attention to alleged animal abuses by the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus.
The circus, on that day, was performing at Energy Solutions Arena.
A PETA employee and a volunteer were on the nearby TRAX platform, speaking to members of the public and distributing educational literature, the lawsuit says.
The UTA officers told the workers such activities were not allowed and threatened to cite them for trespassing if they did not leave, the lawsuit says.
UTA ordinances specifically permit "public speaking" and the "distribution of non-commercial written materials" at "any transit facility," according to the lawsuit.
PETA seeks a court declaration allowing their organization to continue exercising their free speech rights in public areas under UTA jurisdiction.
The lawsuit also seeks "at least nominal" monetary damages, as well as attorney fees and court costs.
"The UTA officers had no legal right to force these activists to stop politely speaking out against Ringling Bros. circus, which routinely beats and whips the animals it forces to perform in its shows," PETA Director Delcianna Winders said in a news release. "Without an injunction, we have no guarantee that our right to free speech will be protected."
Because UTA is not specifically named in the lawsuit, UTA public information officer Gerry Carpenter declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
But Carpenter did say that UTA ordinances prohibit free speech activities if they are conducted in a manner which "disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with transit services, the movement of passengers or UTA employees, or public safety."