NEWS: A Utah city's attempt to get rid of a lawsuit pending against it for trying to block a drag show in 2023 by repealing the challenged ordinances failed on Monday.

The drag group, Southern Utah Drag Stars, can continue their lawsuit against the City of St. George.

The city tried to block the group's drag show last year, denying it necessary permit. SUDS sued and got a preliminary injunction, allowing the drag show to take place in late June. The city then repealed the ordinances and argued that should end the suit, mooting the case, but the drag group countered that that wasn’t enough — and U.S. District Judge David Nuffer, an Obama appointee, agreed in his ruling Monday.

“The City’s repeal of the challenged ordinances does not erase the evidence that the ordinances were applied as a targeted attempt to restrict SUDS access to a public forum, nor does the repeal of the ordinances ipso facto constitute sufficient assurance that future discriminatory conduct will not take place,” Nuffer wrote, adding that the 2023 show “was only held after court intervention.”

Because of all that, he continued, “Permanent injunctive relief may still be necessary to ensure SUDS is not similarly treated in the future.”