Southie Parade Organizers Claim City 'Strong-Armed' Them: Report

BOSTON, MA — Organizers of the annual South Boston St. Patrick's Day parade are back in court, alleging Mayor Marty Walsh "strong-armed them into inviting an LGBT group to march by threatening to withhold necessary permits," The Boston Herald reported Tuesday.

Tensions around this year's parade were already high, when the City of Boston attempted to shorten the Allied War Veterans Council of South Boston-organized annual parade route. The veterans group took the city to court over the issue this March — and won.

Now, according to the Herald, the veterans group has updated its complaint against the city with allegations that smack of another alleged City Hall scandal. The new filing is part of a lawsuit first filed in March that targets Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, seeking “permanent injunctive relief” from the city for “coercive and threatening acts.”

The Herald makes a point of tying this latest news to previous allegations from the U.S. District Attorney's office that members of Walsh's administration used their office to pressure organizers of the Boston Calling music festival into hiring union labor.

Walsh, in an interview with the paper, emphatically denied the Veterans Council's allegations.

>>>Read the full story from The Boston Herald here<<<

St. Patrick's Day Parade Image courtesy Adam Pieniazek via Flickr/Creative Commons