The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the cause of Herb Quintero, the tackle shop owner who was fined by the city of Clearwater after he had a mural of game fish painted on his shop.
Quintero said he was threatened with additional fines after he covered the mural with a banner-size copy of the First Amendment.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tampa this morning, claiming the mural is a work of art and exempt from city codes dictating commercial sign requirements. The $690 Quintero has paid in court costs and fines stem from the city's position that the mural is not art but rather a sign related to his business.
In the 18-page lawsuit, the ACLU argues the city was wrong to threaten Quintero with additional fines, which have not been leveled yet, after he covered the mural. The ACLU lawsuit also says the city allows people to put up banners with no size restrictions on holidays, so to punish Quintero for the First Amendment banner amounts to a violation of his free speech rights.
At a news conference this morning in front of Quintero's Complete Angler tackle shop, Becky Steele, a regional director for the ACLU, said the organization wants a federal judge to decide the constitutional issues before fines related to the banner kick in.
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