ACLU Takes On Lincoln Arena

The city, which owns the building, alleges the man trespassed and refused to comply with a police officer’s order, while the ACLU claims Larry Ball’s First Amendment rights were violated.

“Christians and individuals of every faith or viewpoint have the right to express their views in the public square,” ACLU Nebraska’s Amy Miller said in court, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. She added Ball was peacefully handing out religious pamphlets, “the very kind of speech our Constitution was written to protect.”

Ball was reportedly told he was trespassing after he passed traffic barricades and walked into a public space in front of the venue. In a statement, he said he’s been sharing “the story of my faith with others on public property for decades. Being told that I couldn’t talk about my faith in this way is offensive, and it was illegal to force me to stop.”

Chief Assistant City Attorney John McQuinn told the Journal Star Ball’s faith wasn’t the issue at all.

“In this particular case what appears to be at issue is whether a walkway up to a facility, like Pinnacle Bank Arena, is a public sidewalk, or is it something different,” McQuinn said. “What I can say is that there is ample space for people to lawfully make their views and positions known on the public sidewalk, public right-of-way.”

ACLU attorney Joel Donahue disagrees. “The area where our client was distributing his religious pamphlets is clearly a public sidewalk and all residents of Lincoln should expect that their First Amendment rights will be protected in that space,” Donahue told the paper.

Ball was scheduled to appear in court on ordinance violations, for which he could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. The ACLU has asked the judge to dismiss the case.