A Florida man whose Nazi flag was confiscated by staff at the Kia Center in Orlando, Fla., during an Aug. 29 combat-sports event has sued the city, alleging that the city-owned venue violated his First Amendment rights by allowing some political expression while suppressing his.
Jay Brown filed an amended complaint on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging that a Kia Center usher grabbed a swastika flag from his hands and that staff threatened to remove him if he continued displaying it. According to the complaint, Brown was escorted to a coat-check area, where staff took and held the flag.
The Duel Arena event featured a heavyweight kickboxing match between Israeli-American Jewish fighter Ben Azoulay and Paul Nicholas Miller, who is known online as “Gypsy Crusader” and has a history of racist and antisemitic online content. Miller defeated Azoulay by split decision.
Brown alleges that the usher called the flag “hateful” and told him he should be “ashamed” of displaying it. He also claims venue staff allowed other patrons to display large Black Lives Matter flags at the same event.
“The First Amendment protects nearly all speech,” Anthony Sabatini, an attorney for Brown, told JNS.
Brown’s lawsuit accuses the city of viewpoint discrimination and seeks compensatory and nominal damages, as well as an order barring the city from enforcing restrictions on political expression based on its content or viewpoint.
In a Sept. 2 statement, Orlando Venues and the city condemned hate speech, antisemitism and racism, while saying that as operators of public venues, they are bound by the First Amendment and cannot deny access based on political ideology or viewpoint.
The Kia Center’s published policies prohibit signs larger than 11 by 17 inches and signs containing “indecent or derogatory comments/images” or political statements. The rules also allow security personnel to inspect items and prohibit anything deemed inappropriate for crowd safety.
