A federal judge in St. Louis has rejected a state request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by a Ku Klux Klan group.
September 5, 2010
By The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS —Frank Ancona, imperial wizard of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, is seeking to rent a pavilion at the Fort Davidson Historic Site in southeast Missouri.
The group filed a lawsuit as it sought to use the site for an April 14 gathering. The KKK group was unable to meet the insurance requirements imposed by the Department of Natural Resources and held the picnic on private property.
Ancona alleges that the requirements violated his right to free speech.
Judge Rodney Sippel in St. Louis wrote in his ruling Aug. 31 that the issue isn’t moot although the April 14 event has passed. He noted that the KKK group is now seeking to use the pavilion on Oct. 3.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press