This Feb. 23, 2018 photo provided by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa shows Josh Harms in Sibley, Iowa. Harms, who said his hometown smelled like "rancid dog food" because of an animal food processing plant sued the city Thursday, March 8, 2018 after he says they threatened to silence him. Harms with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed suit in U.S. District Court asking a judge to block Sibley officials from making legal threats or taking action to force him to remove criticism from his website. (Veronica Fowler/ACLU of Iowa via AP)
March 08, 2018 - 11:29 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa - A man who wrote that his Iowa hometown smelled of "rancid dog food" after an animal food processing plant moved in has sued the city, saying officials are trying to silence him.
Josh Harms with help of the American Civil Liberties Union seeks in federal court to block Sibley city officials from making legal threats or taking action to quiet him.
Harms says the city violated his constitutional free speech rights by telling him he must take down his website.
He says city officials aren't doing enough to reduce the odour from the Iowa Drying and Processing plant, which makes animal feed supplements from pig blood.
An attorney for the city declined to comment.
Sibley is a town of 2,600 people about 238 miles (383 kilometres) northwest of Des Moines.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018