Texas Gov. Greg Abbott violated an atheist group's freedom of speech by removing a Bill of Rights nativity display from the Capitol in December, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in a federal court in Austin.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which promotes separation of church and state, claims Abbott, a Republican, illegally censored their exhibit, which depicts "the Founding Fathers and the Statue of Liberty crowded adoringly around a manger scene containing" the U.S. Constitution, according to a release.