4 file suit over ‘blacklist’

Four of the 81 people whose names were added without their knowledge to a list of people requiring a police escort in City Hall filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday afternoon against the city.

The court action came only hours after city officials declined to release the criteria for putting people on the list, citing a state law allowing confidentiality of security measures in government buildings.

The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit are Elaine Blanchard, who officiated one of the first same-sex weddings in Memphis after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling; Mid-South Peace and Justice Executive Director Bradley Watkins and coordinator Paul Garner; and activist Keedran “TNT” Franklin.

The lawsuit seeks answers from the city about why people were placed on what is being called the Memphis Police’s “blacklist,” said Blanchard, an ordained minister, a graduate of the Memphis Police Department’s Clergy Police Academy and a grandmother.

“Someone is going to have to explain to me how I’m a threat to this city or anyone at City Hall because that’s a puzzle to