LOOGOOTEE — For the third consecutive year, the City of Loogootee is locked in a high-stakes legal battle with the ACLU of Indiana over the right to host a local Pride festival in the heart of the community.
On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, the ACLU filed two separate legal actions on behalf of the Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Group: a new federal lawsuit and a motion for contempt. The filings allege that city officials are defying a permanent injunction issued just months ago by passing a “near-verbatim” version of an ordinance already ruled unconstitutional.
The conflict centers on Ordinance No. 2025-14, passed by the Loogootee City Council in late December 2025. According to the ACLU, this new legislation restricts “special events” from the city’s Public Square—the preferred location for PrideFest—while allowing them in other areas like the city park or green space.
Legal experts point out that this is almost identical to Ordinance No. 2025-1, which U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young permanently enjoined in October 2025. That ruling found the city’s restrictions violated the First Amendment by unfairly targeting the LGBTQ+ celebration while other public events were permitted to use the square.
According to Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, court orders must be complied with, and Loogootee, by enacting an ordinance that contains provisions enjoined by the Court, is in contempt of its lawful orders. Falk says the ordinance Loogootee has adopted continues the city’s pattern of attempting to unconstitutionally restrict this celebration.
Timeline of the Dispute
The tension between the city and festival organizers has escalated steadily since the inaugural PrideFest in 2023:
- 2023: The first PrideFest is held on the Public Square with city approval and no reported incidents.
- 2024: The City Council passes a new ordinance and rescinds approval for the festival. After an initial lawsuit, the parties reached a temporary agreement to allow the event.
- 2025: The city ignores a permit application and passes a more restrictive ordinance. In August, a federal judge orders the city to allow the event. In October, the judge issued a permanent injunction against the ordinance.
- December 2025: The City Council passes Ordinance 2025-14, prompting the current legal action.
Mayor Brian Ader and city officials have previously defended the ordinances, stating they are designed to minimize business disruptions and ensure public safety by steering events toward the city park. They argue that the festival’s size does not require major street closures in the downtown business district.
However, organizers of the Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Group vice president Tracy Brown-Salsman emphasize that the central location is about more than logistics—it is about civil rights and inclusion, saying, “Visibility literally saves lives.”
The ACLU is asking the court to:
- Find the City of Loogootee in contempt for violating the previous permanent injunction.
- Declare the new ordinance unconstitutional.
- Issue a new injunction to ensure PrideFest 2026 can proceed on the Public Square without interference.
A hearing date for the motion for contempt has not yet been set.
