Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- The city of St. George and a group of drag performers have settled a lawsuit over denied permits.
- The lawsuit claimed city actions were discriminatory against drag and LGBTQ events.
- Settlement details remain undisclosed, with attorney fees still under negotiation.
ST. GEORGE — St. George and the drag show performers who filed a federal lawsuit against the city in 2023 after a dust-up over the denial of venue permits have reached a settlement, according to new court filings.
On Friday, the plaintiffs, Mitski Avalōx and Southern Utah Drag Stars, asked the court for a two-week extension to file documents to close the case, as the plaintiffs and St. George and its leaders named in the lawsuit "have made substantial progress toward drafting a settlement agreement resolving all of the claims in this matter except for plaintiffs' claim for attorneys' fees and costs."
On Dec. 5, the city and Southern Utah Drag Stars notified the court they had "negotiated a resolution." Details of the resolution were not provided in court documents. They said attorney fees and costs were still being negotiated.
A message to a city spokesman was not immediately answered Sunday.
Southern Utah Drag Stars, represented by the ACLU of Utah, filed the lawsuit in May 2023 after Avalōx applied for a permit in March to host the "Allies & Community Drag Show Festival" at the J.C. Snow Park, next to I-15 and Dixie middle and high schools. The ACLU described it as a "family-friendly drag event."
The permit was denied by St. George leaders, according to a letter sent by the city's special events coordinator, who said Avalōx was violating city ordinance that bars advertising an event before the city issues a permit.
Avalōx appealed the decision during a City Council meeting on April 11. Two other events were dealt similar denials citing the same ordinance. Avalōx claimed the city was playing favorites and pointed to other events that she said did not follow the city's rule.
"You guys have chosen to obviously choose reoccurring city sponsored events and exclude them from that city ordinance — I mean, the other two events that got denied seem like collateral damage when I know that one of our council members is openly against what I do," she said at the time, presumably referring to Councilwoman Michelle Tanner, who had been critical of drag performances and was named in the ensuing lawsuit along with the rest of the City Council, mayor and city manager.
Southern Utah Drag Stars and its CEO Avalōx said in the lawsuit the city's actions constituted censorship and discrimination, arguing it's "part of a yearslong effort to target drag performances and LGBTQ pride events in violation of the First and 14th Amendments, as well as the Utah Constitution," the ACLU of Utah said.
In June 2023, U.S. District Judge David Nuffer called the city's reasoning for denying a permit a pretext for discrimination. Nuffer's ruling was regarding a preliminary injunction requested by Southern Utah Drag Stars that allowed it to hold a drag show later that week.
Southern Utah Drag Stars' lawsuit wasn't the first time the issue came up in city government. In fall 2022, St. George's city manager received a $625,000 payout from the city to leave his position, according to reports, after the relationship between members of the City Council and then-City Manager Adam Lenhard soured when they disagreed about allowing a drag show to take place in the Town Square during the summer.
The City Council told Lenhard to cancel a permit that had been issued for the drag show, but Lenhard allowed the show to proceed as he feared canceling it would lead to a discrimination lawsuit.
