Dodson also contacted the Van Buren Police Department to discuss differences in the logistics of traffic direction for a reverse parade.Īmong the rules created by Dodson for TOTMA’s 2020 reverse Christmas parade was a prohibition on floats displaying any flag other than the flag of the United States of America. Later in the year and closer to the time of the parade, Dodson contacted Mayor Joseph Hurst for confirmation that the reverse parade should not be canceled in light of ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) related restrictions. TOTMA board member Lindsay Dodson acted as parade organizer and chair and unilaterally drafted rules that parade participants agreed to follow as part of their applications. As various public health responses, such as masking and physical distancing, were deployed in 2020 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, TOTMA decided to hold a “reverse Christmas parade,” in which floats would remain stationary along the Main Street parade route and parade attendees would drive down Main Street to view the stationary floats in the evening.
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The City added the parade to the calendar of events on its website to be held on December 12, 2020. In January 2020, TOTMA received a permit from the City for its 2020 Christmas parade. During that time, Plaintiffs regularly (and perhaps always) flew a Confederate battle flag from their float. Plaintiffs had participated in the TOTMA Christmas parade for approximately 10 years. He is the founder, president and national commander of Plaintiff Sons of the Southern Cross, Inc., a national Confederate heritage organization headquartered in Crawford County. Plaintiff James Bible had lived in Crawford County, Arkansas, for approximately 15 or 20 years. TOTMA would place temporary roadblocks on cross streets and Van Buren police officers directed traffic away from and around the parade. Historically, parade participants constructed parade floats and drove them down a portion of Main Street as parade attendees lined the street. ), a Confederate heritage organization claimed a new “American flags only” rule for an annual Christmas parade had violated its First Amendment rights.įor many years, the Old Town Merchants Association (TOTMA) in the City of Van Buren, Arkansas, had applied for and received a permit from the City of Van Buren (the City) to hold an evening Christmas parade on Main Street in downtown Van Buren. In the case of Sons of the Southern Cross v. For an enhanced digital experience, read this story in the ezine.