MichiganRadio

Highway Nativity WARREN, MI (Associated Press) -


A man who for the past 63 years has placed a Nativity scene on a suburban Detroit median has filed a federal lawsuit after Baby Jesus was kicked to the curb.

John Satawa says in a filing in U.S. District Court in Detroit that the Macomb County Road Commission violated his Constitutional rights by denying him a permit for the Nativity scene because it "displays a religious message."

County Highway Engineer Robert Hoepfner issued the formal denial on March 9, claiming the display would violate the First Amendment.

Satawa's suit claims permission to display scene in Warren was granted in 1945. He is seeking the court's permission to display the Nativity scene this Christmas season and in the future.

Hoepfner told The Macomb Daily in Mount Clemens he has not seen the suit and has no comment.

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Information from: The Macomb Daily, http://www.macombdaily.com © Copyright 2012, Associated Press