In Cajune v. Indep. School. Dist. 194, decided today by the Eighth Circuit, plaintiffs sued to challenge the School District's permission for teachers to display Black Lives Matter posters in classrooms (but not for members of the public to display other posters, such as All Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter posters). The court, in an opinion by Judge Raymond Gruender, joined by Judges Bobby Shepherd and Steven Grasz, upheld the district court's denial of some plaintiffs' motion to proceed pseudonymously:
This circuit has not directly addressed the standard by which a litigant may proceed under a pseudonym…. [W]e join our sister circuits and hold that a party may proceed under a fictitious name only in those limited circumstances where the party's need for anonymity outweighs countervailing interests in full disclosure….
The unnamed plaintiffs wish to remain anonymous in this litigation because they fear reprisal from political activists in southern Minneapolis. The unnamed plaintiffs contend that these political activists are part of the greater "cancel culture" movement, which seeks to punish any dissenting political viewpoints. In support of their contention, the unnamed plaintiffs reference three examples of cancel culture: (1) political activists' intentional interference with Bittersweet Bakery's business in Eagan, Minnesota; (2) HomeTown Bank's firing of Tara McNeally due to McNeally's criticism of the Shakopee School District's superintendent on Facebook; and (3) the plaintiffs in this case allegedly being assaulted and physically blocked from entering school board meetings by political activists.
