Judge orders Minutemen road sign to be reposted





Caltrans moved them from I-5 checkpoint
By Tanya Sierra
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 29, 2008

FEDERAL COURT
A federal judge has ordered Caltrans to repost the San Diego Minutemen road sign on a two-mile stretch of Interstate 5, a victory for the anti-illegal immigration group.



The Minutemen were granted a northbound stretch of the highway near the Border Patrol's checkpoint south of San Clemente in November as part of the Adopt-a-Highway litter cleanup program.
They were reassigned to state Route 52 near Santee in January after complaints to the agency about the group's controversial nature and the location near the checkpoint.

The group, alleging free-speech discrimination, sued Caltrans in February and in May requested a preliminary injunction to restore the sign while lawsuit was pending.

District Judge William Q. Hayes on Friday granted the preliminary injunction, saying there was not enough evidence to support the safety risk.

Caltrans argued there was a risk of confrontation on the freeway near the sign, after meeting with local Latino groups and state legislators.

Minutemen attorney, Howard Kaloogian, said yesterday that safety claims were “bogus.â€