PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The federal trial begins today in the lawsuit brought by members of the Narragansett Indian tribe, who say their civil rights were violated when state troopers closed the tribe’s tax-free smoke shop in 2003.
Narragansett Tribal Council member Paulla Dove Jennings, her son, Adam Jennings and Keith Huertas, manager of the shop, are suing.
They say several state troopers did not identify themselves or show a warrant when they raided the smoke shop on July 14th, 2003 — two days after it was opened. They also say the troopers assaulted and injured them.
A federal judge has since ruled that the state acted properly in shutting down the shop, saying the state has the right to tax cigarette sales on the tribe’s land.
ABC News
