The Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty has sent the Village of Slinger a letter asking it to withdraw its sign ordinance enforcement after a resident was cited for displaying two signs supporting President Donald Trump.
One of the signs, attached to resident Dwight Mueller’s fence, displays a bald eagle and “Trump Make America Great Again” while a sign in his yard reads “God Guns & Trump.”
The village said in a Feb. 12 letter sent to Mueller that it had received a complaint related to the signs. WILL believes the sign ordinance enforcement is a violation of the First Amendment.
“Government actors, no matter how big, small, or local, must adhere to the rights and liberties the U.S. Constitution guarantees American citizens,” said WILL Associate Counsel Nathalie Burmeister. “The Village should immediately cease its enforcement of their sign ordinance. The Village of Slinger has no authority to make value judgments about what speech is allowed and what is not.”
WILL said that it is believed other residents received similar letters stating “flags displaying political messages or content are in violation” of village ordinance.
WILL successfully represented Neenah residents against sign ordinance enforcement in 2023 and the city was forced to change its ordinance.
WILL cited a prior U.S. Supreme Court ruling stating that a sign ordinance must be content neutral in order to be enforceable.
But a letter from the village president to residents on Feb. 21 said that the ordinance was being enforced only when there were complaints regarding a sign.
“The Village of Slinger does not have a compelling interest in the differential treatment of political signs, but this has not stopped it from attempting to enforce its unconstitutional ordinances against Village residents,” WILL’s letter said.
