ACLU sues Colorado school district after former employee was forced to leave, banned over “harmless” comment

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado on Thursday sued Woodland Park School District leaders on behalf of a former district employee who they say was forced to leave a school board meeting after making a “brief and harmless” comment and was immediately banned from district property and events for more than a year.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges that resident Logan Ruths’ constitutional rights to freedom of expression under both the state and federal Constitution were violated. It is the latest sign of boiling tensions in a school district that has gained national attention after a conservative group of candidates won control of the board and earlier this year adopted controversial social studies standards, Colorado Public Radio reported.

According to a statement from the ACLU detailing the lawsuit, Ruths was listening to a speaker June 14 during public comment at the  board meeting and interpreted their remarks as hateful rhetoric toward the LGBTQ community. As the speaker ended, he chimed in, saying “Where else do you do comedy at? I’d love to see your show sometime.”

“The board abruptly stopped the meeting, threatened to call the police to have Ruths removed and ultimately intimidated him into leaving the property,” the statement noted.

The next day, Ruths, who attended school in the district and still lives in Woodland Park, received a letter from the school district attorney, Brad Miller, commanding him to stay away from district property and events for more than a year. Any violation could result in criminal prosecution, according to the statement.

The ACLU is asking the court to immediately remove the banishment order while the lawsuit is pending and asserts that “this banishment order has no legitimate basis and is instead thinly veiled retaliation for Ruths’ open criticisms” of the district.

“This experience has been a chilling illustration of the Woodland Park School Board’s abuse of power in trying to silence legitimate public dissent,” Ruths said in a statement. “As an alumnus of the Woodland Park School District, and a previous employee, I have the right to engage with and be heard by the district. Having that right taken away was particularly painful and harrowing.”

Board President David Rusterholtz told The Colorado Sun that he repeatedly asked Ruths to leave the meeting as a means to restore order.

“I gave him every opportunity to stop, and I have nothing against him,” Rusterholtz said. “I like the guy. Everything I’ve heard about him, he’s a nice guy and so I have no animosity toward him whatsoever. I just wanted him to stop interrupting the meeting.”

He added that Ruths was the first person he’s ever had to ask to leave a meeting — an action he never wants to take.

“I don’t mind dissent,” he said. “I don’t mind anything like that. As the president of the board, I need to keep order during the meeting, and I couldn’t do that and continue with the meeting.”

When asked if banning Ruths from district grounds and events for more than a year violated his rights to free speech, Rusterholtz said he wasn’t sure he should be banned for that long.

“Would I say his rights are being violated?” he said. “I think that when you enter into a meeting that you don’t bring all of your freedom of speech into a meeting like that.”

He called the incident and lawsuit “terribly unfortunate” and pointed to a broader trend of feverish emotions in school board meetings nationwide.

“I know that the passions are running high, and I try to be patient for that,” Rusterholtz said. “In school board meetings across the country, there are very passionate people, and part of my job is to run the business meeting of the board of directors of the district, and I always hope that I do it very patiently, that I’m kind and respectful to people during that time.”

This is a developing story that will be updated.