The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit against Maui County today, saying an ordinance placing restrictions on roadway sign-waving is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Maui residents Chuck Carletta and Mele Stokesberry, who said police threatened to fine them for carrying signs in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Wai­luku in January.

A lawsuit to restore First Amendment rights has been filed against the County of Maui, an American Civil Liberties Union press release states.

It seeks immediate changes to a county law that prohibits roadway and sidewalk sign-waving within 50 feet of a traffic control signal, 20 feet of a pedestrian crosswalk or six feet from the edge of a roadway.