Stacey Barchenger and Holly Meyer

The Tennessean

Bradley County has agreed to pay $41,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a national atheist organization over a religious Easter message posted to an official Facebook page for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.

American Atheists announced Thursday they had reached a settlement with the East Tennessee county and sheriff’s office. Amanda Knief, the national legal and public policy director for American Atheists, called the settlement a "clear win" for the two anonymous local plaintiffs in a statement and was pleased the sheriff agreed not to promote religion on the official social media account.

"What is unfortunate, is that it took a lawsuit and more than $40,000 in taxpayer money for the county and sheriff to put this common sense policy in place," Knief said.

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Court records show the case was dismissed Wednesday because of the settlement agreement. The county and Sheriff Eric Watson, who posted the Easter message, do not have to admit wrongdoing, but the county will pay $15,000 to American Atheists and the two anonymous local plaintiffs, as well as $26,000 in attorney fees, according to a copy of the settlement agreement provided by American Atheists.

The agreement also put restrictions on Facebook use. A new sheriff's office Facebook page will not be allowed to "promote or further any religion, religious organization, religious event or religious belief." Commenting on the Facebook page will no longer be an option. Watson can keep a personal Facebook page as long as it clearly states that it only reflects his personal views and not those of the department.

"Part of my public duty is to enforce the laws of our state and to protect and defend the constitution of our nation and state without regard to anyone’s personal faith, ethnicity, or national origin," said Watson, in a statement. "The case filed against Bradley County and I have been time consuming and reflect the inevitable clash between three clauses of the First Amendment."

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Watson also specified in his statement that it was not his decision to pay the amount agreed upon in the settlement. He said it was a business decision made by the Local Government Insurance Pool and the money is not county funds.

In May, the atheists group and a woman named in court documents as "Jane Doe 1" sued the sheriff and county saying that to delete some social media posts violated the woman’s First Amendment rights to speech.

One post at issue: On March 27, Easter Sunday, the sheriff posted on the department's Facebook page under the headline "He is risen," according to the lawsuit.

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"Today is one of the most historic days, not only did Jesus die on the cross for our sins, but he rose on this day!" the sheriff wrote on the social media site, according to the lawsuit. A Bradley County woman complained to American Atheists.

But then, when the woman criticized the sheriff’s post on Facebook in her own posts, hers were deleted, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit said that censorship violated the woman’s right to free speech in the public forum of social media.

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8958 or on Twitter @sbarchenger. Reach Holly Meyer at 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.