The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) was founded in 1990 with the mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms.
Under the leadership of Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the organization engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe.
ACLJ has taken on the case of Ms. Rosanna Pulido, a resident of Springfield, Illinois, who “faced outrageous restrictions on her freedom of expression at a city council meeting.”
According to ACLJ, Ms. Pulido attended a Springfield City Council meeting on October 29, 2024, sporting a “Chicanos for Trump” T-shirt.
Despite her peaceful and orderly participation, exercising her free speech was too much for the council, and she was singled out by a Springfield alderwoman, who claimed the shirt violated a policy against “campaign materials” in the council chambers.
She was then forced to either turn her shirt inside out or cover the message.
As ACLJ notes, this rule is nowhere to be found in writing and, although Ms. Pulido wrote to the city council and to the city’s attorney asking what law was being enforced, she received no reply.
Further, the rule is completely unconstitutional: Citizens can wear campaign T-shirts in public places.
Hellbound and Down 