Memphis, IRS employee resolve ‘blacklist’ lawsuit

The city of Memphis and Internal Revenue Services employee Janelle Macklin agreed to end a lawsuit Monday over her wrongful inclusion on a list of City Hall security threats.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman dismissed Macklin’s lawsuit with prejudice Monday as the city of Memphis fulfilled its end of the bargain by acknowledging that it incorrectly added Macklin to a list of people requiring a police escort in City Hall, and to a list signed by Mayor Jim Strickland of people he allegedly told to stay off of his personal property following a “die-in” protest on his front lawn.

Macklin had sought damages for the “stress” caused by her inclusion on the lists.

After The Commercial Appealfirst reported the details of the City Hall “blacklist” of 81 people last year, the city said 43 names were wrongly added to the list.

Many of the citizens on the lists were political activists and some of them were vocal critics of the administration, raising the question of how the city knew their birth dates, sexes, races, heights and weights without conducting illegal political surveillance.

In her complaint, Macklin said she was added to the lists because of her involvement in an “anti-violence” rally at a local Malco theater.

“It is important that all citizens understand that there are boundaries that should not be crossed in law enforcement and we must hold our government accountable when they make mistakes,” Macklin said in a statement Tuesday.

Of the three lawsuits filed over the security list, only one remains ongoing. The local organizing committee of the Fight for $15 campaign already settled its lawsuit. Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.