LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Muslim inmate who won a U.S. Supreme Court case upholding his right to grow a beard for religious reasons said in a lawsuit that Arkansas officials transferred him to a federal prison in West Virginia in retaliation for several other lawsuits he has filed.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Gregory Holt, also known as Abdul Maalik Muhammad, claiming the transfer violated his constitutional rights.
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Holt could maintain a half-inch beard because Arkansas prison officials could not substantiate claims that the beard posed a security risk.
The lawsuit filed Thursday argues his transfer was an effort to disrupt his advocacy on behalf of himself and other inmates.
“Mr. Muhammad’s history of meritorious litigation showcases the ability of the legal system to provide justice to all, including prisoners,” the lawsuit said. “The Court should not tolerate the (state’s) retaliatory transfer aimed at suppressing Mr. Muhammad’s meritorious litigation and legal work.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections declined to comment on the lawsuit. Jeff LeMaster, a spokesperson for Attorney General Tim Griffin, said Griffin’s office was reviewing the lawsuit and would “vigorously” defend the state.
Holt has six active lawsuits against the Arkansas Department of Corrections, according to the complaint. The lawsuit accuses the head of the division of correction of unilaterally pursuing Holt’s transfer to a federal facility after the idea was raised in a mediation session in one of his lawsuits.
Since being moved to the West Virginia facility, the ACLU said, Holt has been denied access to basic hygiene, religious services and contact with his lawyers. The lawsuit said he also has lost access to ongoing casework and legal documents that support his cases.
The lawsuit said that since Holt is still a state inmate, Arkansas has the power to order his return to a state facility.
“This ordeal has made Mr. Muhammad loathe to ever trust the mediation process or participate in a mediation with the ADC ( or any other government actor) again,” the lawsuit said.
In his U.S. Supreme Court case, Holt claimed that he has a right to grow a beard under a federal law aimed at protecting prisoners’ religious rights. He had the support of then-President Barack Obama’s administration, religious groups and atheists alike.
Holt is serving a life sentence for a brutal assault on his girlfriend and was being held at a maximum-security prison 26 miles (43 kilometers) southeast of Little Rock. His case first came to the Supreme Court’s attention when he filed a handwritten plea to the court asking it to block enforcement of Arkansas’ no-beard rule.