Boston to pay $2 million in settlement of case challenging city’s refusal to fly Christian flag

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Following the intervention of the US Supreme Court, the city of Boston has agreed to pay $2.1 million to a conservative Christian legal group that challenged the city’s refusal to fly a Christian flag at City Hall, the Associated Press reports.

The case arose in 2017 when city resident Hal Shurtleff and his Camp Constitution group were denied their request for the Christian flag to be raised on City Hall Plaza on Constitution Day.

The request had been made specifically because, although US, state, and city flags are usually the only banners raised on the Plaza, the city does occasionally fly different types of flags: between 2005 and 2017, Boston city granted 284 consecutive applications from private organizations to fly flags.

No application to fly a flag was denied until Shurtleff made his request.
Shurtleff approached the conservative Liberty Counsel legal organization for help in filing suit against Boston city for violating his rights to free speech and religious freedom, AP reports.

The case reached the US Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in May that the city had violated Shurtleff’s right to free speech on account of his “religious viewpoint.”

The settlement figure announced Tuesday by Liberty Counsel will cover legal fees and costs connected to the case, AP said. “Settlement at this time also allows the City to avoid the costs and uncertainty associated with further litigation in this case,” a statement from the city said.

The Christian flag was eventually flown for a couple of hours outside Boston City Hall on August 3, AP said.

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