The small town of Loogootee, Indiana, is once again the subject of litigation after town leaders efforts to shut down a Pride festival. A new lawsuit accuses officials of trying to nix the event by ordinance for the third time in three years.The ordinance it has adopted continues Loogootees pattern ofattemptingto unconstitutionally restrict this celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, said in a press release that accompanied the suit. Related A small town tried to shut down a Pride festival. The ACLU fought back and won. Advocacy organization Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Groupfirst held the Pride fest in 2023 in the towns public square without incident. It drew about 200 attendees.The next year, however, following the election of a new mayor and council members, the town passed a burdensome ordinance that effectively overturned prior approval of the groups 2024 permit request. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The group refiled its application in compliance with the new rules, but that permit request was ignored. A subsequent lawsuit by the group changed city officials minds; the permit request was approved, and the Pride fest was on for a second year. Attendance grew to about 350 people, according to court documents.Patoka Valley filed its request for a 2025 event soon after, but once again, town officials didnt respond. In January 2025, the city council amended the permit process once more; while they finally approved a 2025 permit, the new ordinance barred the group from holding the event in the town square. Festival organizers took the town to court again, claiming both the 2024 and 2025 ordinances were unconstitutional and a violation of their First Amendment rights.In August, district court Judge Richard L. Young agreed, entering a permanent injunction preventing the enforcement of the citys 2025 ordinance; Patoka Valley held its 2025 festival in September.It is so important for our local LGBTQA+ community to be celebrated and seen, Tracy Brown-Salsman, vice president of the Patoka Valley group, said in a news release at the time. Having our 3rd Annual Loogootee PrideFest downtown on the public square is so important because that visibility matters. Visibility literally saves lives!Loogootee Mayor Brian Ader said town officials were deeply disappointed by the ruling and were making plans to appeal. This issue is not about free speech, but instead it is about politics, Ader told the Indy Star. The latest lawsuit addresses what the town did next.After failing to appeal the ruling and ignoring yet another permit request for 2026, the town revised the events ordinance in late December with a new rule barring any public event from taking place within 240 feet of the town square fountain.Lawyers for Patoka Valley claim its a near-verbatim copy of the 2025 ordinance, on which the court had just entered an injunction months earlier. So once again, the group is suing, this time asking the court not only to declare the ordinance unconstitutional but also to hold town officials in contempt for violating the final ruling by Judge Young back in October.Court orders must becomplied with, and Loogootee, by enacting an ordinance thatcontainsprovisions enjoined by the Court, is in contempt of its lawful orders, ACLU legal director Falk said, adding, We will continue to vigorously defend our clients right to hold the event at their desired location in the heart of Loogootee.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.