Immigration activist banned from Senate files suit vs. Pearce

Immigration activist Salvador Reza has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging Senate President Russell Pearce violated Reza's constitutional rights by banning him from the Senate earlier this year.The lawsuit, which also names Department of Public Safety officers Jeff Trapp and John Burton as defendants, says Reza's rights of freedom of speech, assembly, association, to petition and communicate with his elected representatives and his right to due process and equal protection were violated.

Reza was among protesters at a hearing of several immigration bills in February that drew a rowdy crowd. The next day, Trapp and Burton arrested Reza on suspicion of trespassing. According to police reports, Reza refused to leave the Senate after being told he'd been banned. No charges were filed.

Democratic lawmakers accused Pearce of blacklisting immigration-rights leaders. Pearce denied it, saying he gave Capitol police the authority to ban people who had been disruptive during the hearing.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges that Pearce banned Reza "based on Mr. Reza's public criticism of Mr. Pearce and his policies and because Mr. Reza is of Mexican ancestry."

Reza is asking for an injunction preventing the defendants from violating his rights in the future as well as compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by a jury.

Attorney Stephen Montoya agreed that Pearce didn't specifically instruct law enforcement to ban Reza. "But when you say get rid of the disorderlies and Salvador Reza has been identified as a leader of the disorderlies, you are indirectly banning Mr. Reza," Montoya said.

Reza said he filed the lawsuit to prevent others from being banned.

"This way of trying to silence opposition by arresting opposition, that only happens in terrible countries," Reza said.

Pearce said he did not target Reza.

"I never knew his name, and it was never mentioned in the handling of this disturbance. I was never advised of a list or given any names," Pearce said. "We have an obligation to keep an orderly atmosphere in this chamber, and I intend to do that. This entire session we had loud, obnoxious, rude, vulgar folks around the Capitol (outside). We respect one's right to protest, but it ends when they violate others' rights."