Judge: State Fair can limit preacher to specific areas

There were problems with the way law enforcement officers treated a Des Moines man who was preaching on the Iowa State Fairgrounds during last year's fair, a judge ruled today.

However, fair security officials and Iowa State Patrol troopers ultimately did not violate Jason Powell's First Amendment rights by asking him to stop standing and preaching on public ground near two main gates to the fairgrounds, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt wrote in his ruling.

Powell filed a lawsuit against fair and state officials in June, claiming that law enforcement officers barred him from preaching on the fairgrounds last year on Aug. 15 and 16. Powell stood wearing Christian clothing and holding up a sign at two locations that were on the grounds, but outside the fair's gates, on the western and northern borders of the fairgrounds.

On Aug. 16, Powell was detained in a booking area by a state trooper who took his picture and told Powell he would be arrested for trespassing if he entered the fairgrounds again. State officials in a hearing last month said Powell had to be removed from the areas he was preaching because he was interrupting the flow of pedestrian traffic.

In his ruling today, Pratt wrote that it was wrong for fair officials to threaten Powell with arrest, rather than offering to move him to a place where he would not interrupt traffic. However, the fair has a legitimate interest in limiting where a preacher or protester could stand on the fairgrounds so that people and vehicles can move freely, Pratt wrote.

Pratt also dismissed Powell's concerns that fair officials discriminated against him because of his Christian message.

"Although plaintiff contends that he was excluded from the fairgrounds based on the content of his speech, only plaintiff's personal opinion supports this conclusion," Pratt wrote. "Indeed, plaintiff has offered no evidence that fair rules were applied to him and not to other persons conveying a different type of message, and plaintiff admits that no fair official or law enforcement officer made any comments whatsoever about his sign, t-shirt, statements or other expressive conduct."

Pratt's ruling denied a request from Powell's attorneys to bar the fair from stopping Powell from preaching in certain areas while the lawsuit proceeds forward.

The ruling is a defeat for Powell, as it essentially limits him to areas where he does not have access to the large crowds that gather for the fair, said Nate Kellum, an attorney for the Center for Religious Expression, a group that is helping represent Powell. Kellum said he was not certain whether Powell would preach outside this year's state fair, which is set to start on Thursday.

"I feel certain that given the ruling, he will feel he really doesn't have a purpose in going," he said. "He wants to be able to share his message, take advantage of the opportunity where there would be a lot of people to share that message."