PETA Secures Free Speech Victory

A team of Latham lawyers has secured another First Amendment victory for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc. (PETA). As a result of the efforts of New York associates Tené Johnson, Kaleb Underwood, Jason Petropoulos, and Allie Gershman, Washington, D.C. associate Jake Vannette, New York partner Matt Salerno, and Washington, D.C. partner Andy Clubok, PETA is now able to advertise at Wyoming’s Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport to encourage viewers to consider purchasing non-leather luggage.

PETA first engaged Latham in 2023 when its proposed ad was rejected by the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, a public airport in Rock Springs, Wyoming. When PETA asked the airport for an explanation, the airport claimed the ad violated an advertising policy. PETA suspected that the rejection was actually the result of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.

Our lawyers issued public records requests and found evidence that the officials charged with approving advertisements at the public airport did not have a formal advertising policy in place at the time PETA submitted its proposed ad. Instead, within days of receiving PETA’s request, the airport purported to adopt a policy for the sole purpose of rejecting PETA’s ad. After attempts to resolve the matter informally with the airport were unsuccessful, the Latham team filed a lawsuit in June 2024 in the US District Court for the District of Wyoming for violations of PETA’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. After participating in a mediation in January 2025, the airport agreed to consider all PETA advertisements on the same terms afforded to other advertisers. The lawyer fees awarded to Latham as part of the settlement were subsequently donated to PETA. As of May 2025, the ad is on display at the airport for six months.