Key West Couple Sues City Over Rainbow Fence Enforcement Amid Florida Pride Art Crackdown

In February 2025, Nicole “Coley” Sohn and Linda Bagley-Sohn filed *Sohn v. City of Key West* in the Southern District Court, alleging that the Historic Architectural Review Commission singled out their rainbow fence for violation of a white-fence ordinance while other non-white fences were left untouched. The suit seeks First Amendment relief.

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In August 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis ordered removal of 400 art pieces statewide, including a rainbow crosswalk outside Orlando’s Pulse nightclub. In Key West, 50 residents painted rainbow pickets on fences to protest the removals, after which the city cited the Bagley-Sohns under historic-district rules requiring white fences.

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About 400 Pride-related street art pieces were ordered removed statewide. Over 50 rainbow picket fences appeared in Key West after the crosswalk removals. The lawsuit asserts that only the plaintiffs’ rainbow displays have been cited for fence-color violations.

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The plaintiffs argue the fence was a peaceful protest and that First Amendment protects their right to support LGBTQ+ inclusion. ACLU staff attorney Samantha Past called the state’s removal of Pride symbols an act of overreach, and ACLU attorney Nicholas Warren warned that selective enforcement of fence ordinance violates principle that government cannot single out expressions.

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The ACLU of Florida says the city’s enforcement is selective, noting that other non-white fences were not cited, and argues this amounts to viewpoint discrimination.

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The complaint includes photos of other non-compliant fences that were not cited; the city has offered no public explanation for the selective targeting.

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• “If the government is going to enforce the law, it can’t single out certain expression [or] messages and ignore others when it’s enforcing the law,” — Nicholas Warren, ACLU of Florida attorney

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• “No one should lose their right to speak out simply because those in power disagree with the message, and the government can’t single out some views over others, deciding how to enforce its laws. That’s what the First Amendment protects us from.” — Coley Sohn, homeowner

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• “The forced removal of rainbow crosswalks and Pride-related street art across the state reveals the threat Florida leaders have unleashed on free expression. Allowing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to escalate into censorship is an act of state overreach that should concern everyone,” — Samantha Past, ACLU of Florida staff attorney

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• “The only fence- and gate-color violations the City has cited in recent years have been Plaintiffs’ and their co-protestors’ rainbow displays,” — Complaint, *Sohn v. City of Key West*

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The case proceeds in federal court; a judge will decide whether the city’s enforcement constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. Discovery is underway and no trial date has been set.

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