MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. — Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass said he’s not sure yet what the county will do now that a federal judge has ruled a Nativity scene on the courthouse lawn violates the Constitution.
Judge Timothy Brooks ruled Thursday that the county must either stop placing any religious seasonal displays on the property or create a public forum allowing displays by all religions and viewpoints including non-religion.
Pendergrass told The Baxter Bulletin on Friday that no decision has been made on which option to follow. He said the county has 14 days to make a decision.
The American Humanist Association and Mountain Home resident Dessa Blackthorn filed the lawsuit last December after Pendergrass denied at requests to place a “Happy Winter Solstice” banner on the lawn along with the Nativity scene.