(The Center Square) – Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown declared a “complete victory” on Thursday after the courts dismissed a First Amendment lawsuit, which the city authorized $200,000 in spending to fight.
Conservative Christian activist Sean Feucht filed a lawsuit against the city of Spokane and current and former members of the Spokane City Council last year. Marshall Casey, an attorney with Sweetser Law Office, told The Center Square that his client had sued for $2 million in damages and will likely appeal.
The plaintiff alleged that the city and several council members violated his First Amendment rights and similar provisions in the Washington State Constitution. The lawsuit arose from a resolution passed by the council in 2023 to denounce former Mayor Nadine Woodward for appearing on stage with Feucht.
Critics liken his work to Christian nationalism, a term he believes the media weaponized against him; Feucht has said that he doesn’t want to see the country turn into a theocracy, even if it were Christian.
“The Resolution contains no punitive or censorial aspect, or even a threat of potential punishment or censorship,” according to the decision. “The Free Speech Clause does not prohibit a legislative body’s expression of its own views on matters of public concern, even if it includes criticism of certain ideas.”
Woodward joined Fuecht and former Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, at a Let Us Worship event in Spokane following the pandemic. Both have criticized left-leaning movements and other groups, with a state investigation once alleging that Shea promoted armed conflicts against the federal government.
Woodward apologized to several media outlets for her appearance at the event in the weeks following, but filed a $1.4 million claim for damages against the city in July 2024, according to reporting by KHQ.
“If you’re going to have city councils that are allowed to tell us what real Christianity is and not allow certain people to pray with the mayor based on their beliefs,” Casey told The Center Square, “if we’re going to say that’s ok, that certain religious beliefs keep you from praying with the mayor, then we should just know that. To me, the free exercise of religion says the government shouldn’t be doing any of that.”
Some residents have called the resolution government overreach in the years since, while others label the conservatives for what they call “extremism.” The council approved $100,000 in spending to fight the lawsuit in October 2024, which it voted in July to cap at $200,000 for their outside counsel.
The Center Square contacted the Brown administration, asking how much of the $200,000 it spent on the case and whether the city plans to seek attorney fees, but did not receive an immediate response.
The city has faced an unanticipated rise in claims this year, which the officials will attempt to remedy on Monday with a vote to backfill the Risk Management Fund with $500,000 from its reserves. Shea also sued the city, but his case was sent to a federal court and is still ongoing, unlike Fuecht’s lawsuit.
“The Superior Court’s thorough and clear ruling is a complete victory for the city,” Brown wrote in a statement after the ruling. “There was no legal merit to Mr. Feucht’s claims. At a time when extremism is on the rise, it is reassuring that the Court upheld the Constitution and our community’s values.”
Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Councilmember Zack Zappone also signed onto the statement, but the lawsuit named former Council President Lori Kinnear and Councilmember Karen Stratton.
When The Center Square contacted Feucht for an interview, his email sent an automatic reply that he would be unreachable until later this month, and provided two other contacts. His assistant responded that Fuecht was in a remote area completely out of phone service and “unable to communicate at all.”
The Center Square did not receive an immediate response after asking if Feucht is aware of the ruling.
Casey said he couldn’t confirm if Fuecht is aware of the ruling because of the attorney-client privilege.
“In passing this resolution, Spokane, Washington, condemned and discouraged Fuecht’s religious beliefs and practices and those of many in Spokane,” according to his April 2025 amended complaint. “Under Washington and United States Constitution, the rights of the people deserve vindication.”
