Gary Formhals, a former U.S. Navy chief and recipient of the “Award of Excellence” for his service, also works part-time and volunteers at the Washington State Park and Recreation Commission.
He was ordered to remove his pro-Trump political bumper stickers from his personal vehicle, “as a condition” of his ongoing volunteer service and part-time employment within the park system. This order was based on a park system policy concerning “Public Contact/Communication.”
Gary’s bumper stickers featured political messages, including “Trump 2020” and “2-TRUMP-4.”
Earlier this year, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed a lawsuit against WA State Park on behalf of Formhals, asserting, “Gary believed what the Park was asking him to do was wrong and that it violated his constitutional rights. He was right.”
The ACLJ highlighted that the policy used against Formhals was overly broad, stating, “Do not express, display, broadcast, distribute or otherwise communicate to the public any personal opinions, messages or points of view while performing host duties, wearing the host vest, or while occupying the host site. This includes the display of expressive items such as stickers, flags, signs, and clothing.”
The lawsuit sought a court declaration labeling the policy — both in its wording and implementation — as unconstitutional. Additionally, it requested compensation for Gary for the violation of his constitutional rights and reimbursement for lost wages due to his forced resignation from his part-time role.
The ACLJ shares, “The First Amendment does not allow government officials to censor the speech of their employees unless the speech negatively impacts the efficient administration of the workplace. That was certainly not the case here. Even though Park officials knew about Gary’s political bumper stickers for years, they never did anything about them. It wasn’t until a visitor to the Park voiced her outrage about Gary’s bumper stickers, which she described as ‘insurrectionalist [sic],’ that the Park decided to give Gary an ultimatum: your speech or your job.”
“Fortunately, shortly after the ACLJ filed the lawsuit, the WA State Park agreed to work on changing the language of the policy and removing the problematic language.”
The new policy will now read as follows:
The highest priorities of volunteer hosts and the State Parks Volunteer Program are public service and ensuring all park visitors and members of the public feel respected, safe and welcomed at all times in state parks. Consistent with these priorities, host’s behavior, interaction and communication with the park visitors and members of the public must be professional, friendly, polite and in a safe matter, and consistent with State Parks policies and the laws of the State of Washington – including those relating to non-discrimination, anti-harassment and respect for persons.
