O'Toole v. Walnut Grove

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a lawsuit today against the mayor and city of Walnut Grove, Mo., on behalf of a resident who expressed displeasure with the mayor’s decision to shoot and kill a stray border collie that was caring for her puppies in September 2014.

After the incident, Walnut Grove resident Linda O’Toole spoke at a city meeting and started an online petition encouraging community members to contact Walnut Grove City Hall to demand that Walnut Grove Mayor Jim Cole resign and that public officials become more educated on modern methods of animal rescue.

In April 2015, Cole sued O’Toole in an attempt to silence her criticism. O’Toole has been forced to endure the burdens of the lawsuit, including the cost of litigation. She is now afraid to exercise her First Amendment right to speak out against a public official’s actions.

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