The Human Rights Defense Center filed a lawsuit against the jail for censoring material it sent to people being held in custody

A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams and the Weld County Jail of unconstitutionally censoring mail that was sent to inmates.

The Human Rights Defense Center filed the lawsuit in the Colorado District Court to challenge the censorship of mail sent to Weld County Jail inmates and its ability to appeal the censorship claims, with the Weld County Commissioners, Reams, Undersheriff Donnie Patch, Captain Marcy Roles-Foos and several jail employees named as defendants, according to the complaint.

The center also petitioned the court to order jail officials to stop the censorship immediately as the material it sent to inmates poses no threat to jail security or inmate safety, according to a motion for preliminary injunction filed alongside the lawsuit.

The Weld County Sheriff’s Office is not able to comment on the lawsuit pending the ongoing litigation, department spokesperson Melissa Chesmore said.

The returned mail sometimes came with reasons for the censorship, such as the fact that the mail was books, news clippings or internet articles, which are prohibited by the jail, according to the lawsuit. The center was not given the opportunity to appeal the censorship decisions.

The center wants the court to order the jail to give it an opportunity to appeal the mail rejections as well as a meaningful reason for the rejection, according to the injunction motion.

The center in its suit claims the censorship has violated its First Amendment right to free speech and its 14th Amendment right to due process by censoring and rejecting material it sends to prisoners and by not allowing the center to appeal the censorship decisions.

Books, magazines, newspapers, and material that advocates for violence or that would compromise jail safety are some of the reasons material may be censored by the jail, according to the Weld County Jail Detention Manual.

In the center’s suit, it also stated its publications and mail to inmates pose no threat to the safety and security of the jail and that the prisoners often have no other means of learning more about their legal and civil rights.

The center is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against jail officials, as well as compensatory and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.