Plaintiff Stacey Segarra-Bohlinger stands before L.A. City Hall. Photo: Justin Milan Photography.
With the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, FAC is representing Stacey Segarra-Bohlinger in a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles to challenge unconstitutional censorship of banned words.
The Los Angeles City Council prohibited public speakers from using “the N-word or C-word, or any variation of either of these words, in a Council or Committee meeting.” Under another rule, a violation of the word ban exposes the speaker to removal from the meeting at hand as well as from other meetings in the near future. Ms. Segarra-Bohlinber is a community member who has often commented at City Council meetings but whose speech has been chilled by the unconstitutional rules.
As FAC explained in a letter to the city council, above all else the First Amendment prohibits the government from censoring speech merely because it is offensive to some or many. There is no limiting principle to the censorship power claimed by the council. Indeed, the council president has suggested other words might be banned, saying “We’re going to try to get in all the terms.” In another interview, when asked if other terms might be prohibited in the future, he replied, “Absolutely. This is as much a step as we can take at this moment, we believe. But we think it will open us up to take additional steps in the future.”
Press Release:
FAC and FIRE sue Los Angeles City Council over policy banning certain words during public comment (10/6/2026)
FIRE Op-Ed: Censorship Never Stops with Just Two Words (8/1/2026)
News Coverage:
USA Today: Free-speech groups sue over LA council’s ban on N, C-words in meetings (10/7/2026)
Legal Documents:
- Memo in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction (10/30/2026)
- Complaint (10/6/2026)
- FAC and FIRE Demand L.A. City Council Halt Enforcing Public Meetings Word Ban (7/26/2026)