'Zombies' Sue TVA
Six individuals in Tennessee have filed a federal lawsuit against the nation's largest utility claiming that during a board meeting they were kicked out because they were dressed like zombies.
Last July protesters in Chattanooga went to a Tennessee Valley Authority board meeting dressed in costumes in an attempt to persuade TVA officials not to go ahead with plans to begin construction again of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Alabama, according to AP.
Construction of the nuclear plant had stopped in 1988. Subsequently the board decided to ban all costumes to avoid further disruptions at future meetings.
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At a board meeting last August there were four individuals that were not allowed to enter the TVA board meeting in Knoxville because they were dressed in various costumes. A fifth person was removed from the meeting when he started to act like a zombie.
Chris Irwin, Bonnie Swinford, Matt Jones, Ricki Draper, Mark Homer and Margaret Rogers filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville against some if the TVA's top officials including the president Tom Kilgore and CEO Steve Kelly, as reported by WRCB.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs arrived at the August meeting in costume. Irwin was dressed in a business suit but his face was covered with makeup, Draper had on a Santa Claus outfit, Homer attended the meeting as Benjamin Franklin while Rogers dressed in pirate garb.
The ones that were in costume were not allowed to attend the meeting.
"Each speaker was allowed time to speak and at the end of Plaintiff Jones' allotted time, he made a joke about zombies being outside, mussed up his hair, raised his hands and made a low moaning nose. Plaintiff Jones was immediately ordered to leave the premises and was not permitted to remain in the Meeting," the lawsuit said.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim the TVA violated their right to free speech by not allowing them to attend the meeting due to the plaintiff's means of expressing themselves through their dress and appearance. They also stated that there was no policy in place at the time barring costumes at the meeting and that the dress code violated their right of free expression.
No date for the hearing has been set.
