Jack Gerritsen sued the city seeking to remove the cross and stop officials from displaying the Nativity each December, according to Deseret News. Gerritsen argued the displays on public land violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, and he has said the cross and Nativity scene offend him and make him feel excluded as an atheist. A federal judge in downtown Los Angeles rejected his request to remove the seasonal display, prompting his appeal to the Ninth Circuit