A grandmother who was arrested after feeding the homeless at an Arizona public park has filed a lawsuit against the city with the support of the nonprofit public interest law firm, Institute for Justice.

Last March, 78-year-old Norma Thornton was feeding the local homeless population at a nearby public park in Bullhead City when she was stopped and questioned by responding officers. Police body cam footage of the arrest was obtained and released by the Institute of Justice. In the footage, the responding officer can be heard explaining to Thornton that she violated a city ordinance and that he'd need to arrest her and take her down to the police station for processing. Before relaying the information to Thornton herself, the officer can be heard speaking to a superior on the phone while in his squad car. “This is a PR nightmare, but ok,” the officer tells his superior over the phone.

Following the arrest, Thornton was ordered to show up to court where she pleaded not guilty. Bullhead City eventually dropped the charges after she declined a plea agreement. Still, Thornton shares that she was threatened with over $1,400 in fines and fees, up to 120 days in jail, and up to 24 months of probation.

Officials detailed that Thornton’s arrest was due to a violation of a Bullhead City law ordinance that makes it illegal to share food in a public park. The ordinance was passed in May 2021, and many have called it the city's attempt to push the homeless population out of the area.

The mayor of Bullhead City, Tom Brady, shared that the ordinance only applies to public parks and that individuals are welcome to feed homeless individuals in churches, clubs, and private properties within the city.

Thornton, who used to own a restaurant and worked in the food service industry a majority of her life, has continued to feed the homeless population, but not in the community’s public parks. Instead, Thornton continues to cook and feed the homeless in a nearby private alleyway.

“I'm still able to serve people, it's not ideal. There’s no tables, there's no grass. They get their food and they just sit up against a fence it gives us some shade.” Thornton shared through a video released by the Institute of Justice. “When I was serving in the park it was much easier for people to get to me and to the food. We always kept the park clean so that the place is always left as clean or cleaner than we arrived. Nobody camped in the park, lived in the park.” She later adds, “The city has made it very clear that I can have a party and host up to 100 people with no consequence at all so long as I am not feeding the homeless.”

Suranjan San, a lawyer with the Institute of Justice who is representing Thornton, explained that the case is about kindness and that the city has criminalized acts of kindness. “The city council passed an ordinance that makes it a crime punishable by four months imprisonment to share food in public parks for charitable purposes,” San shared with local outlet AZFamily. “At a city council meeting, the city attorney made it crystal clear. You may host a pizza party in the park for 50 people or a hundred people. Invite friends, invite strangers. You may do it all day every day, so long as your motivation is something other than to people in need.”

As part of the lawsuit, Thornton and her legal team are seeking an injunction to keep the city from enforcing the ordinance. She argues in her lawsuit that her constitutional right to engage in charitable acts has been violated.