COLUMBUS - A Fort Benning soldier who was ejected from a Carmike theater because of his Muslim headwear has lost a bid to shut down the cinema company because Carmike sent him an open invitation to return. <br>
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Juan Lugo sued Carmike in federal court Feb. 19, claiming the company violated his civil rights by ordering him to remove his kufi or leave Hollywood Connection in Columbus on Jan. 5. <br>
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Lugo is continuing his suit despite a ruling Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land denying a motion to shut down the company. <br>
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Carmike's attorney Richard Gerakitis produced a letter dated Feb. 13 extending an invitation to Lugo and his family to go to any Carmike property. <br>
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``It appears that you've been given what you asked for,'' Land said. ``Carmike has agreed to allow you on their premises with your kufi so the court does not need to issue an injunction.'' <br>
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Lugo, 33, said the letter was insincere. <br>
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``Even if we accepted the invitation or not, I was not going back to a place where my family would be uncomfortable,'' he said. ``The invitation should have been dealt with then not later.'' <br>
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Lugo's attorney, Joe Wiley, said he was disappointed in Land's ruling. <br>
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``I think an injunction issued today would have made a statement beyond Lugo, and that other Muslims would be protected,'' Wiley said. <br>
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Lugo claims Hollywood Connection employees escorted him from the theater after he refused to remove his kufi. He said he, his wife and their five children left the movie complex. <br>
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Columbus-based Carmike, which operates about 2,300 screens in 35 states, says it has a dress code that includes prohibition of attire that identifies gang affiliation, including headbands, ski caps, skull caps, stocking caps and bandanas. <br>
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Company officials said Lugo was not asked to leave because he is a Muslim but because he created a disturbance after a guard asked him to remove his kufi.
