An “alternative” news outlet that triggered a First Amendment case against a Minnesota law that allows a restraining order to be filed on the basis of “unwanted words” has been shut down.
The Star Tribune Media Company announce Oct. 28 the closure of the four decades-old Twin Cities publication City Pages.
“We will not mourn the demise of this most offensive, objectionable weekly rag,” said Erick Kaardal, special counsel for the Thomas More Society.
Thomas More defended a group called the Christian Action League of Minnesota in a harassment case filed by a Twin Cities lawyer, Leigh Frost, who objected to the group’s informational campaign targeting City Pages.
Christian Action League reached out to the publication’s advertisers, informing them City Pages was also promoting “strip clubs, porn stores, and phone sex ads.”
The charges have been dismissed.
“We won. They’re done,” said Christian Action League President Ann Redding when the news broke that City Pages was shutting down.
CAL was founded in 2010 to stop the free weekly magazine distributed in newsstands and restaurants from its salacious advertising.
The lawsuit against CAL brought attention to the organization’s efforts to educate citizens regarding the destructive nature of sexual exploitation and pornography addiction fostered by City Pages.
Now, Thomas More Society is challenging the constitutionality of the Minnesota law.
The issue of the state law arose when Frost, who advertised in the City Pages, was granted a restraining order against the Christian group after receiving one of its postcards spotlighting the seedy ads, claiming harassment.
Frost cited a Minnesota law that defines harassment, in part, as “unwanted acts, words, or gestures that have a substantial adverse effect or are intended to have a substantial adverse effect on the safety, security, or privacy of another, regardless of the relationship between the actor and the intended target.”
The order was issued by a court without holding a hearing to allow the Christian group to comment.
The restraining order was dismissed a short time later at a court hearing, but the Thomas More Society then launched its constitutional challenge to the speech restrictions.
“I want to congratulate Ann and the Christian Action League on their successful boycott of City Pages for its anti-women and pornographic messaging,” said Erick Kaardal, of the Thomas More Society. “We will not mourn the demise of this most offensive, objectionable weekly rag.”
Kaardal said the problem with the law is that it “allows the government to issue a restraining order on unwanted words,” which could allow a ban on “all unwanted political speech.”
The Christian Action League of Minnesota says it exists to educate citizens regarding the destructive nature of sexual exploitation and pornography addiction and to equip communities with resources to combat its devastating effects on children and families.
CAL was forced to halt its campaign regarding the City Pages because of the threat posed by the law.
A postcard from the organization informed Frost her law firm’s ads were supporting pornography.
“The same communications requested that Frost consider ceasing advertising with City Pages. Instead of considering the request, Ms. Frost ran to the courthouse for a restraining order to curtail political speech,” Kaardal said. “And the harassment order has chilled the League’s political speech for fear of future prosecutions by other businesses advertising in the City Pages.”
