CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge has stripped a "GoTopless Day" activist of her core argument against a Chicago ordinance barring women from baring their chests in public.
Sonoko Tagami sued after police ticketed her in 2014 for violating the ordinance during an annual protest of such bans nationwide. The protest was organized by the Las Vegas-based group GoTopless. The ticket cost Tagami $150.
Tagami's lawsuit argues Chicago's ban infringes on her free-speech and other rights.
But the judge in Chicago rejected that in a Tuesday ruling.Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman says precedent requires that, to qualify as protected speech, passers-by must be able to fathom the message the nudity is purportedly conveying.
Tagami's attorney, Joel Flaxman, told Chicago's Law Bulletin he'll appeal. He says his client was "clearly using nudity as speech."
