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Pinellas violated a nonprofit’s First Amendment rights, US court says

tampabay.com · 11dShare

The Pinellas County Commission discriminated against a St. Petersburg nonprofit in 2023 by withholding pandemic relief money due to its association with a Black activist group, a federal appellate court panel said this week. The three-judge panel, in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, agreed the County Commission discriminated against the African People’s Education and Defense Fund, which supports Black communities in St. Petersburg. The group is housed at the Uhuru House, headquarters of the Uhuru Movement, which advocates for racial justice but has also come under federal investigation. The judges specifically referenced statements and “blatantly race-coded texts” between Commissioner Chris Latvala and his aide at the time. “APEDF has plausibly alleged that the County treated similarly situated white-coded comparators more favorably — and, further, that the County’s explanations for its differential treatment don’t hold water," the judges wrote in their 39-page opinion . A Pinellas C

First report: Meet the candidates in Pinellas County’s judicial races — stpetecatalyst.com, 11d