A civil rights group has announced a federal lawsuit against the city of McCrory over an ordinance forbidding any mobile home worth less than $7,500 from remaining in the city limits.

Equal Justice Under Law, based in Washington, said the ordinance banishes people from the city because they are poor.

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A news release said the ordinance was passed in September.

McCrory residents David Waltington and Lindsey Holloway reside in a trailer that is worth approximately $1,500. Living below the national poverty line, they cannot afford a more expensive home. McCrory Police Chief, Defendant Paul Hatch, has ordered them to leave the county, banishing them because their mobile home is valued at less than $7,500.

David and Lindsey are an engaged couple hoping to start their marriage in McCrory, where they can be near Lindsey’s job and close to their families. Their home meets all reasonable health standards and complies with all other regulations. Their trailer is parked on property with all the required hook-ups and is set back from the road. Since the only criterion preventing David and Lindsey from living in the city is the value of their home, McCrory is operating a wealth-based banishment scheme.

Equal Justice Under Law filed the complaint in partnership with attorneys at McMath Woods P.A., a law firm in Little Rock. Executive Director of Equal Justice Under Law Phil Telfeyan says, “McCrory’s attempt to banish its most impoverished residences is unconscionable discrimination. David and Lindsey own their trailer, pay rent on their property, and are being forced out of their home simply because McCrory considers them undesirable. McCrory should invest in its residents rather than criminalizing poverty.”

The lawsuit will seek to have the ordinance declared unconstitutional. Here’s a draft of the lawsuit, which wasn’t reflected on the federal court as having been filed last I checked.

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