AP Wire | 02/02/2006 | White separatists group sues over removal of placards

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."