FAYETTEVILLE -- An activist pastor who sued two Washington County justices of the peace wants to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit, according to a motion filed Monday in federal court.
Clint Schnekloth sued Justices of the Peace Patrick Deakins and Sam Duncan in July 2021 claiming he was removed from county government meetings June 28, 2021, and July 15, 2021, and was deprived of his "guaranteed rights of speech and participation in democratic government."
The agendas for the meetings included declaring Washington County to be a "pro-life" county. Other topics included discussion of how the county could spend covid-19 relief money, the status of the county's Crisis Stabilization Unit, recycling programs in the county, a pay raise for County Attorney Brian Lester and raises for county elected officials.
According to the complaint, Duncan ordered a Washington County Sheriff's Office deputy to remove Schnekloth from the June 28 meeting "for no apparent reason and without any good cause."
Deakins ordered a deputy to remove Schnekloth from the meeting room before the July 15 meeting started, according to the lawsuit.
Schnekloth claims the county has no policy governing the removal of people from a public meeting.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks earlier dismissed parts of the lawsuit.
In his motion to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit, Schnekloth said he no longer believes the lawsuit is worth the time and expense of trying it.
Schnekloth wants the judge to dismiss the case without prejudice.
"A dismissal without prejudice is appropriate in this case because it will allow Mr. Schnekloth to reopen the case if defendants violate his First Amendment rights in a similar way in the near future, which will hopefully provide some deterrent value," according to the motion.
Lawyers for Deakins and Duncan filed a motion in July for summary judgment arguing they're entitled to qualified immunity from being sued.