BATON ROUGE - A federal judge presiding over the Middle District of Louisiana ruled Monday that the city of Baton Rouge and Scott Wilson in his official capacity as Mayor Pro Tempore violated two citizen's First Amendment rights by not allowing them to speak about the death of Alton Sterling at a Metro Council meeting.

In 2017, Eugene Collins, who as at the time the Director of Prevention & HIV/STD Clinical Services with the HAART clinic, and Michael McClanahan, NAACP Baton Rouge Branch President, tried to speak about the death of Alton Sterling during a Metro Council meeting. On the meeting's agenda was the city’s handling of officer-involved shootings.

Scott Wilson, who was Mayor Pro Tempore at the time, had the two and several others, including activist Gary Chambers, removed on the basis of council rules only allowing public comments on the items being discussed. 

McClanahan was removed after he said “I oppose the sewer item because on July the 5th, 2016, Alton Sterling was killed,”, and Collins was removed after he tried to speak on the city’s handling of officer-involved shootings, where he said “I oppose this motion because on July..." prior to his removal, court documents said.

Chambers approached on the next agenda item, saying "“[s]o you guys are gonna rob me of my constitutional rights to say what I believe needs to be said" before being told to speak on-topic. Chambers was removed from the podium and arrested after resisting his removal.

Judge John deGravelles, who presides over the Middle District of Louisiana, noted that while Wilson told community members they would be removed if they disrupted the meeting, he did invite public comment on each agenda item and community members were permitted to approach the podium following calls for public comment on an agenda item.

deGravelles also said what qualified as "on-topic" or was subject to warnings and removal varied that day. He ruled that Wilson removed the two and other community members "without allowing these community members the opportunity
to explain how their comments pertained to the agenda item at hand."

The judge, however, ruled against Chambers due to him physically resisting his removal, repeatedly called Wilson a coward, and "further disrupting the orderly conduct of the meeting." deGravelles said Chambers was arrested as an independent decision of security and he did not have his rights violated.

He also indicated that McClanahan and Collins were entitled to their reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.