A small town in Wisconsin is facing a federal lawsuit after city officials demanded that a local couple, Timothy and Megan Florek, take down their yard sign opposing the rezoning of the property on which a local middle school is situated. The city claimed the Floreks were violating a local ordinance that places a 30-day limit on "temporary" or "portable" signs. Despite legal pushback, the city doubled down, insisting that the ordinance did not violate the First Amendment. On Monday, they were sued in federal court.
"It's not entirely difficult to change an ordinance, but it's something that needs to be done to protect everybody's First Amendment rights," Dan Lennington*, deputy counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), the group suing the town, told WBAY. "Everybody should have an expectation that they can put a sign in their yard and speak on a certain topic."
