In late February, a federal district court upheld the City of Desloge, Missouri’s prohibition on persons entering into the public right-of-way for the purpose distributing anything to the occupant of a vehicle.  Distinguishing the city’s law from those at issue in aggressive panhandling cases such as Thayer v. City of Worcester, the court held that the restriction applied to “the exchange of any item without regard to communicative content.”  

This decision is the latest in a case that was originally filed by the Ku Klux Klan against the City of Desloge in 2012 challenging the city’s ordinances regarding distribution of leaflets and pamphlets in public right-of-ways.  

Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan v. City of Desloge, No. 4:13-CV-810 NAB, Slip Op., 2016 WL 705128 (E.D. Mo. Feb. 23, 2016)