Activist, reporter say Lawrence violated First Amendment rights after unhoused man died

A local activist and a news reporter have jointly filed a lawsuit against the city of Lawrence, alleging the city violated their First Amendment rights by impeding their reporting on homeless encampments in North Lawrence, where a homeless resident had reportedly died.

The suit alleges the complainants’ constitutional rights were infringed upon last winter when Phillip Michael Eravi, owner of the Lawrence Accountability YouTube Channel, was banned from the homeless encampment and Chansi Long, then a reporter for The Lawrence Times, was temporarily banned as they sought to report on the lack of heat sources at the encampment amid bitterly cold winter temperatures.

The lawsuit filed on Nov. 15 is seeking a judgment in an unspecified amount for compensatory damages.

On Nov. 24, it was reported by the Lawrence Times that Long was struck and killed by a train Thursday morning at 8:12 a.m., just north of Sandra J. Shaw Park, near Second and Indiana streets in Lawrence.

Both Long and Eravi claimed in the suit that their First Amendment rights “to speak, the right to listen, the right to photograph and record, and the right to associate and assemble with other residents of the City of Lawrence” were violated by the city of Lawrence.

Named as defendants in the suit are the city of Lawrence; Sgt. Ryan Robinson, a Lawrence police officer; Cicely Thornton, Lawrence Homeless Programs specialist, and Officer Skylar Richardson.

According to the suit, the purpose of Eravi’s Lawrence Accountability channel is to shine a light on “failures by city to hold its police officers, employees and elected officials accountable.” The videos posted on the channel, which has more than 17,000 subscribers, are “critical of police officers, policies, executive leadership, elected leaders, and others employed by the city.”

In the fall of 2022, Eravi learned the city was trying to close a homeless encampment, according to the lawsuit. He began visiting three encampments in Lawrence — Burcham Park, Amtrak and North Lawrence — where he noticed, “certain needs weren’t being met” for the homeless.

One of the critical issues Eravi observed was “that the homeless lacked the ability to obtain or transport a fuel source to provide heat within the homeless encampments as temperatures dropped during the winter season, and the city had made no effort to provide a heat source to the homeless,” according to court records.

Eravi’s observations led him to report and post videos on his YouTube channel on the issue, and how the city was handling it.

On March 21, Eravi received a call from Jennifer Wolsey, a former Lawrence Homeless Programs coordinator, informing him that a homeless resident had died in the North Lawrence encampment, according to the lawsuit. The suit further states that Wolsey requested that Eravi visit the encampment to report on the issue.

“Michael, acting individually, and as a reporter for Lawrence Accountability, went to the homeless encampment to report on what was happening,” the suit reads.

Long, then a reporter for The Lawrence Times with “an extensive history of reporting on the homeless encampments in Lawrence that were critical of City and its employees,” was also called by a resident of the encampment to check on the condition of the campsite, according to the lawsuit.

Both Eravi and Long went to the encampment independently to report on conditions there, according to court documents.

Violation of First Amendment rights

The suit alleges that while reporting, officers told Long that she could no longer enter the homeless encampment and needed to leave the premises. Later, according to the suit, officials said that Long “was being ordered outside the encampment because she needed to do her reporting outside the barriers.” Long left against her will, the suit says.

Soon after, according to the suit, Sgt. Robinson told Eravi that he was “being trespassed” from the homeless encampment by Thornton. Officers said “if he did not leave the encampment that he would be arrested and taken to jail for trespass.”

Eravi asked the officers how long he would be prohibited from the encampment and was told by Sgt. Robinson that he was permanently banned “until it is lifted by Thornton.”

Two days later, on March 23, Eravi returned to the encampment but did not go inside, according to court documents. While outside, Eravi sought clarification on who was prohibited from entering the homeless encampment. He was subsequently notified that “unauthorized visitors” were not allowed. Eravi further inquired about which encampments he was banned from, and was told that “Thornton would provide that information when she returned from being out of town,” according to court records.

Later that same afternoon, Long was notified that she was no longer banned from entering the homeless encampment.

Eravi, however, remained prohibited from entering and never received notification stating why he was banned, the suit alleges.

On March 27, Eravi entered the homeless encampment and was issued a municipal summons for trespassing. According to court documents, the city of Lawrence dismissed the trespass action without prejudice on May 17.

Attorneys for Long and Eravi are seeking a jury trial in Topeka.

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the City of Lawrence told The Star, “The city does not comment on pending litigation.”

These aren’t the first allegations of a First Amendment violation by Kansas officials this year.

On Aug. 11, police raided the Marion County Record office, also in Kansas, which stirred conversation nationally about the First Amendment rights of journalists.

In that case, Marion, a town of fewer than 2,000 people, was drawn into the national spotlight by what was deemed an improper search of the newspaper and the homes of its editor and publisher and a local councilwoman, led by the police chief, who claimed to be looking into allegations that newspaper employees illegally accessed driving records of a local restaurant owner.

The Kansas Department of Revenue, which maintains a database of the records, said the newspaper accessed public information in that case.

Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody has since resigned, but tensions from the raids have continued.

The Star’s Katie Moore and Jonathan Shorman contributed reporting.

This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 6:00 AM.