Naples Tea Party Files A Complaint
In spite of warnings from an Orlando lawyer who has registered the name “Florida Tea Party” with the state Division of Elections, Naples Tea Party organizers say they will continue to use the name, which they say belongs to history more than politics.
Attorney Fred O’Neal is the chairman of the recently formed Florida Tea Party. On Jan. 10 he sent an e-mail to Barry Willoughby, one of the organizers of the Naples Tea Party, an informal group of concerned citizens that has staged events such as demonstrations on U.S. 41 at Pine Ridge Road.
“I suggest you take a look at whether your Naples Tea Party needs to get a new name,” O’Neal wrote.
He told Willoughby state statutes prevent anyone from using the name of a registered political party without permission of that party’s executive committee.
“Barry, if I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that permission anytime soon,” he concluded.
As a result, Willoughby and others filed a federal lawsuit against O’Neal and his newly registered political party asking a judge to declare that O’Neal does not have exclusive use of the term Tea Party and to ban the new party from claiming to represent the broader Tea Party movement that has sprouted up across the country.
Tea Party events date back to last April. O’Neal’s party was formed in November.
Harold
