Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Page 3
ACLU to Sue City Over Order to Remove Patriotic Mural
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The American Civil Liberties Union is expected to announce today it is suing the city of Los Angeles to allow a mural artist to keep his patriotic murals on display.
A few days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, artist Mike McNeilly erected a large mural with the words “God Bless AMERICA,” beneath the images of a New York City firefighter, an American flag and the face of the Statue of Liberty. The mural is called “9-11.”
Citing a Jan. 18 ordinance banning “supergraphics” and new outdoor ads along Wilshire Boulevard, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo issued an order on Sept. 21 asking McNeilly to remove the mural, but McNeilly refused to comply and has recently erected a new mural entitled “Liberty and Justice 9-11.”
The ACLU is citing McNeilly’s First Amendment right to engage in non-commercial political speech in filing the suit.
Copyright 2001, Metropolitan News Company