A federal judge Tuesday stood behind a ruling that blocked restrictions the city of Naples tried to place on a drag show as part of an upcoming LGBTQ “Pridefest.”
U.S. District Judge John Steele on May 12 issued a preliminary injunction against the permit restrictions, finding that they likely violated First Amendment rights.
The city appealed the preliminary injunction to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and requested that Steele issue a stay of his ruling while the appeal plays out.
But Steele on Tuesday rejected the stay request, keeping the injunction in place. In part, he said the drag show is scheduled June 7 in the city’s Cambier Park.
“Since Pridefest 2025 and its drag performance are scheduled for June 7, 2025, and the preliminary injunction by its terms expires on June 8, 2025, granting a stay would essentially vacate the preliminary injunction,” Steele wrote.
The group Naples Pride filed the lawsuit to challenge restrictions such as a requirement that the drag show be held inside a building with a 200-person capacity and that minors be barred from attending.
Steele’s ruling Tuesday said Naples did not dispute that the drag show would be “family friendly.”
Steele said he was convinced a preliminary injunction “was justified as to the location and age restrictions after determining that Cambier … is a traditional public forum, where speech receives the highest protection.
The court also found that even if Cambier Park became a limited public forum, the location and age restrictions would violate the First Amendment because they are neither content nor viewpoint neutral.”
Steele’s rulings came as a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this month separately upheld a preliminary injunction against a 2023 Florida law aimed at preventing children from attending drag shows.