A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Tennessee congressional candidate Justin Pearson and five others can attend the Memphis City Council meeting, lifting bans the council imposed after a raucous October 6 session. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker of the Western District of Tennessee said banning the residents from the October 20 meeting was "unreasonable," according to the Memphis Flyer.
Pearson and the other plaintiffs received letters from Council Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington banning them from the next two council meetings after attendees protested an action to hold the final vote on a proposed data center moratorium, forcing the October 6 meeting into recess. Pearson, the Democratic nominee for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, sued with help from the Vanderbilt Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic, arguing the bans were unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. "The bans by Councilwoman Swearengen-Washington and the city council were unconstitutional," Pearson said at a press conference outside City Hall.
Parker acknowledged the council's concerns about disruption but said officials cannot enforce decorum rules "arbitrarily and based on viewpoint," finding the balance of equities favored the plaintiffs. The Center Square reports that Parker found Pearson showed a high likelihood of irreparable harm, since "the loss of plaintiffs' First Amendment rights cannot be repaired after the fact." The council is considering final approval of the data center moratorium, an issue Pearson has championed alongside community members.