Asheville Blade v. City of Asheville

On December 25, 2021, Asheville police officers cleared an encampment of unhoused people and community activists in a city park. Two journalists, Melissa Coit and Matilda Bliss, were reporting on the situation for a local publication called The Asheville Blade. The police officers ordered everyone to clear the area and began threatening arrests. Coit and Bliss identified themselves to the officers as journalists and did not interfere with police operations, but the officers arrested them, charged them with trespassing, and held Bliss’s phone for 25 days without a warrant.

The ACLU of North Carolina filed a lawsuit on behalf of Coit and Bliss, arguing that the arrests violated their First Amendment rights and that the seizure of Bliss’s phone violated the Fourth Amendment and the Privacy Protection Act of 1980.

On October 17, 2025, the City filed a Motion to Dismiss. On May 13, 2026, the judge held a hearing on the Motion to Dismiss. The judge has not yet issued a decision.