The arrests of two men and two women during a sidewalk chalk protest last year have led to a federal civil rights lawsuit against Las Vegas police. Attorney Maggie McLetchie says chalking isn't a crime, and the people arrested after July 2013 protests outside Las Vegas police headquarters and a regional courthouse had a constitutional right to express themselves.
A spokeswoman says the police department doesn't comment on lawsuits. The civil lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court declaration that protesting on public sidewalks isn't against the law. Plaintiffs Brian Ballentine, Catalino Dazo Jr., Kelly Patterson and Gail Sacco are members and supporters of a group called the Sunset Activist Collective that uses chalk as a form of expression and art.
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