One of Cincinnati’s alternative newspapers, Citybeat, is suing various individuals who have been pressuring the weekly publication to discontinue its “ad service” ads on the basis of First Amendment rights. A city known for its conservative stance, Cincinnati is home to Citizens for Community Values, a group that held a conference earlier and is insisting Citybeat remove its classified ads.

“There is no question that the adult classifieds of their print and online editions consist primarily of solicitations for prostitution and promotion of businesses that front for prostitution,” said Phil Burress, president of CCV.

Feeling that Citybeat’s First Amendment rights are being violated, the editor and copublisher, John Fox, took the matter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The representing attorney, H. Louis Sirkin, named over 30 individuals in the suit, which includes law enforcement officers, prosecutors, members of the clergy and CCV. Sirkin is also involved in another case on behalf of a Hustler store manager, challenging Ohio’s sex offender laws.

“The involvement of government officials, especially law enforcement types, presents a clear threat to our ability to run our business as we choose,” said Fox. Such government officials include Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis, Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher and City Councilman Chris Monzel.

Law enforcement officers feel that they are justified in targeting Citybeat because many prostitution cases founded during “spa” raids in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky have linked back to the ads in the publication.

Citybeat denies the accusations that it runs ads promoting illegal activities. Since the troubles began, the free weekly publication has lost about 25 percent of its advertisers.

The same ads that run in Citybeat are also printed in the Yellow Pages.