SC man wins lawsuit against town after he needed permit for religious sign
A man who sued the town of Chapin after he was told he needed a permit to march with a religious sign on a town street will get a nominal payment plus legal fees in a settlement.
In a final judgment issued by federal Judge Mary Geiger Lewis on Tuesday, the town is permanently enjoined from enforcing the previous version of its town ordinance.
Ernest Giardino sued Chapin last summer after he was stopped by a town police officer in June 2024 and told he would need a permit to stand on a sidewalk holding a religious-themed sign, that read “Trust Christ He paid the price” on one side, and “He Saved Others — Jesus — He’ll Save You” on the other.
Giardino argued in a federal lawsuit that the requirement he must obtain a permit violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of religion.
“We’re very excited” with the ruling, said Garrett Bell, associate counsel at First Liberty Institute, the Christian conservative legal organization that initially brought the lawsuit on Giardino’s behalf.
He said Giardino had started standing on the street with his sign weekly since he had earlier won a federal injunction against Chapin enforcing its picketing ordinance, and the town eventually amended its ordinance to remove the permitting requirement for small-scale demonstrations like Giardino’s.
”Our primary objective was that Ernie could get back out there and share the Gospel with others, and to have the court and the town recognize this was a constitutional violation, and the judge’s order is a representation that he had his rights violated,” Bell said.
In a press release Tuesday, the town said it had reached a settlement with Giardino, in which the town will pay him a symbolic $1 in damages plus cover Giardino’s legal fees of $35,000.
“That ordinance did not concern itself with what was on a sign — religious, political, sports or any other topic; and the text of a sign was not required in the application process,” Chapin said in announcing the settlement. “Rather, the ordinance was intended to allow the Town to consider and manage issues of safety on and public use of often-narrow and heavily-traveled rights-of-way between and along streets and private property.”
The statement notes Giardino was never denied a permit for his sign, nor was he issued a fine. In fact, he had applied for and received more than 20 such permits without reference to the content of his signs, the town said.
But the previous town ordinance did require 14 days’ notice of any planned demonstration, even if it was only one man. Under his permit, Giardino would be allowed to hold his sign on a town sidewalk for 30 minutes, and he would have to move to a different spot after 15 minutes.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 10:50 AM.
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