Today, the ACLU of Indiana filed two actions against the City of Loogootee arising from its latest ordinance that would prevent the annual PrideFest from taking place in the city’s Public Square area, in violation of the First Amendment. The complaints include a new lawsuit and a motion for contempt.
A prior ordinance was permanently enjoined as unconstitutional by the U.S. District Court for the Southern Division of Indiana in August 2025. That injunction had allowed PrideFest to continue as planned the following month. Nevertheless, at the end of 2025, Loogootee passed a “new” ordinance that contained much of the same language as the enjoined ordinance, including two provisions that the Court had declared unconstitutional and permanently enjoined.
As a result, the ACLU has sought to hold Loogootee in contempt for not obeying the Court’s prior orders and has filed a new lawsuit to have the new ordinance declared unconstitutional and enjoined so that Loogootee PrideFest 2026 can proceed as planned.
Ken Falk, legal director, ACLU of Indiana, issued the following statement:
“Court orders must be complied with, and Loogootee, by enacting an ordinance that contains provisions enjoined by the Court, is in contempt of its lawful orders. Moreover, the ordinance it has adopted continues Loogootee’s pattern of attempting to unconstitutionally restrict this celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. We will continue to vigorously defend our client’s right to hold the event at their desired location in the heart of Loogootee.”
The complaint can be found here, and the contempt motion can be found here
You must be logged in to post a comment.