White separatist group sues rail system over removal of ads

ST. LOUIS -- A group that says its goal is to preserve the white race is suing the organization that runs St. Louis' light rail system over the removal of advertising placards.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit this week on behalf of the National Alliance, which had placed ads on MetroLink trains. Metro, which operates MetroLink for the Bi-State Development Agency, removed the ads in January 2005.

The ads read: "The Future belongs to us!" and gave the name and phone number for the National Alliance.

Removing the ads violated the group's right to free speech, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. The ads were removed after an anonymous complaint about the views of the National Alliance.

"Metro's decision that the National Alliance's ads are too controversial is completely arbitrary," said Brenda Jones, executive director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. "The Supreme Court has made clear that the public expression of ideas cannot be prohibited simply because the ideas or the speakers of the ideas are offensive."

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified the National Alliance as one of the nation's largest neo-Nazi hate groups. The Hillsboro, W.V., organization, and officials from Metro, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The lawsuit asks the court to require Bi-State to accept and post National Alliance's advertising, and asks for a declaratory judgment that removal of the ads violates the Constitution.

"The best way to counter obnoxious speech is with more speech," said Anthony Rothert, legal director for the ACLU office. "Persuasion, not coercion, is the solution."