Pastor sues City of St. Joseph, others on discrimination claims

By Marcus Clem

A former member of the governing body of the St. Joseph Public Library claims in a lawsuit that the decision not to re-appoint him last year is a violation of his rights.

Brian Kirk filed a five-count civil complaint on Jan. 25. The listed defendants are the City of St. Joseph, Mayor John Josendale, each member of the City Council, Josh Blevins and Steven Greiert. Blevins is the pastor of Grace Calvary Chapel, an Evangelical church in east St. Joseph, and Greiert is the chairman of the Buchanan County Republican Party Central Committee. Kirk is the openly gay pastor of First Christian Church in Downtown St. Joseph.

”The actions of these government officials, those acting as government agents, the policies, and practices of the City of St. Joseph that facilitate these actions, violate (Kirk’s) constitutional right to engage in free speech without retaliation and to equal protection,” Kirk’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. “… Plaintiff’s action is filed to recover damages for those injuries and to procure injunctive relief to prevent future recurrence of these violations.”

Over a period of time from June to August 2023, Kirk alleged in the lawsuit, Blevins and Greiert urged city officials not to appoint Kirk as vice president of the library’s Board of Trustees and further not to re-appoint him as a board member to a four-year term. Kirk had served on the board since 2019.

Council members nominate people to the library board and vote on appointments to it. People attended local government meetings at various points to voice both opposition to and support for Kirk.

”Kirk’s appointment to a post that directly impacts our youngest and most vulnerable minds should be a deep concern for any resident who wants to keep our libraries as centers for unbiased learning,” Blevins wrote on Facebook on June 20, 2023. “We don’t want our public libraries to become indoctrination centers for the LGBTQ movement.”

To sum up the complaints, according to the lawsuit, these efforts gave rise to alleged violations of his right to free speech and right to equal protection under the law as established by the First and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The defendants’ actions allegedly inspired a conspiracy to violate those rights, according to the lawsuit. There is also ground for certain damages, injunctive relief and other penalties, according to the lawsuit.

”The chronology of the events demonstrates a causal connection between (Kirk’s) protected speech and protected status and the defendant’s actions to chill that particular speech and other similar speech. But for (Kirk’s) Facebook posts and being openly gay, defendants would never have rescinded his library board nomination,” Kirk’s attorneys allege in the lawsuit.

A dollar figure is not assigned to the lawsuit’s petition for Kirk to be made whole on alleged damages or any punitive costs tacked on. However, as a consequence of Blevins’ actions, the lawsuit requests for Grace Calvary Chapel to be deprived of its tax-exempt status. A jury trial is demanded for all five claims.

Kirk declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing advice from his attorneys that they alone speak for him on matters related to it.

City Manager Bryan Clark said that all municipal employees are forbidden by policy from discussing pending litigation. Councilman Marty Novak said in concurrence with city policy, he will not comment on any pending litigation.

Mayor John Josendale, Vice Mayor Randy Schultz, and council members Jeff Schomburg, Kenton Randolph, Michael Grimm, Andrew Trout, Taylor Crouse and Madison Davis have not yet responded to a request for comment.

Blevins declined to comment. Greiert has yet to respond. The local GOP Central Committee which he chairs indicated Wednesday that it would need to take a vote on responding to the lawsuit on Greiert’s behalf, and that it has not yet considered any such action.