A suit was filed in a Florida federal district court this week by a pastor whose invocation at a Jacksonville City Council meeting was cut off by the Council president who thought the invocation was too political. The complaint (
full text) in
Gundy v. City of Jacksonville, (MD FL, filed 7/1/2019), alleges that Pastor Reginald Grundy's microphone was cut off 4 minutes into his invocation after he said:
Father, in the name of Jesus, we have a political climate right now that is dividing our community further and further apart because of pride and selfish ambitions. People are being intimidated, threatened, and bullied by an executive branch of our city government while cronyism and nepotism is being exercised in backrooms.
City Council President Aaron Bowman justified his action the next day on Twitter, saying:
I never envisioned a CM (council member) stooping so low to find a pastor that would agree to such a sacrilegious attack politicizing something as sacred as our invocation. It obviously was a last ditch effort to try and revive a failed term and campaign. Fortunately I control the microphone.
Grundy contends that Bowman's action violated his free speech and free exercise rights protected by the U.S. and Florida constitutions.
News4JAX reports on the lawsuit.
