Rep. Justin J. Pearson and other community members will be allowed to attend the Memphis City Council meeting on October 20th.
The announcement comes as The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee ruled in favor of the plaintiffs who filed suit last week against the Memphis City Council.
Legal action was taken after Pearson and others received letters saying they were banned from the next two upcoming Council meetings. Residents were notified of their bans in the aftermath of the October 6th Memphis City Council meeting, which went into recess after attendees protested against an action to hold the final vote on a proposed data center moratorium.
The suit was filed on behalf of Justin J. Pearson, LJ Abraham, Amber Sherman, Jasmine Bernard, Kimberly Owens Pearson, and KeShaun Pearson by the Vanderbilt Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic.
Judge Thomas L. Parker said while the council has the ability to set “reasonable and viewpoint neutral” limitations on speech at meetings, banning residents from the October 20th meeting was “unreasonable.”
The formerly banned residents will hold a press conference at Memphis City Hall plaza, prior to Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The body is slated to take action on a number of data center-related items during its regular meeting.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
