A former city councilwoman has sued Jefferson City and the mayor in federal court over the removal of pavers engraved with a message about a Confederate general from a plaza on Adrian's Island.
Former Councilwoman Edith Vogel filed the federal lawsuit late Thursday afternoon, suing Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin and the city over the removal of pavers that Vogel had paid to have engraved at the new park near the Bicentennial Bridge on Adrian's Island.
A fundraising campaign was organized for the plaza in which donors could purchase engraved pavers.
Vogel ordered two pavers last fall, which were placed alongside more than 50 other pavers.
Vogel's pavers read: "Union Camp Lillie notes: deciding against attack the confederate army under Gen. Sterling Price turned from Jefferson City Oct. 7, 1864."
Other pavers placed at the park mentioned donor names, deceased loved ones and Bible verses.
Vogel's suit alleges Tergin and the city did not adopt or publish content guidelines for the pavers. She said donors were invited to purchase "personalized" pavers and "provide your message."
Vogel alleges Tergin and the city created a designated public forum when they invited the public to purchase a paver and supply a message. The lawsuit alleges Tergin ordered Vogel's pavers removed in December because Tergin "did not like the message Vogel chose for them."
The suit also states the city informed Vogel she could keep the pavers by "changing the message she conveyed or she could receive a refund for her donation." Vogel opted to receive a refund.
In her lawsuit, Vogel noted Tergin previously led a City Council vote which removed a monument on Moreau Drive with a similar inscription.
The City Council voted in mid-October to remove the marker from the city right-of-way on Moreau Drive after months of discussions with residents on the topic.
Supporters of removing it argued it does not represent an accurate or full history of Jefferson City during the Civil War and the donating group has ties to the Ku Klux Klan and racist propaganda.
Those in favor of keeping it argued removing it would erase history and the marker doesn't glorify the Confederacy.
In her lawsuit, Vogel referenced a News Tribune article from Dec. 24 where Tergin is quoted as saying, "The urgency in removing these particular pavers was that they reference the rock which council had previously voted to remove. So, keeping in line with that decision that was made by council, I felt it appropriate to remove these."
Vogel's lawsuit alleges her pavers have "been singled out for suppression based on Defendants' opposition to the message it conveys and its reference to the Moreau Drive monument," and therefore violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Vogel is seeking to have the pavers re-installed, as well as be awarded damages and her attorney's fees.
"Carrie Tergin believes in this woke version of revisionist history where we can't talk about the Civil War," Vogel said in a news release. "She will do anything to erase the Camp Lillie affair from the city, but she can't use her powers as mayor to silence her opponents or tell us what history we can and can't talk about."
Tergin declined to comment on the lawsuit until she is able to review it with her legal counsel.