A group of community merchants is joining a legal battle to keep a near-century old cross and Nativity scene from being removed from an LA neighborhood. The trouble began in 2025 when a member of the El Pueblo community in LA, Jack Gerritsen, sued the city, asking for the removal of the cross and Nativity, claiming they violated the establishment clause and offended him. The two figures have stood at the Olvera Street Market for 97 years. Gerritsen’s initial sued was rejected by a federal district court and the case and has since moved to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The suit has drawn the ire of local community members, who see the cross as indicative of the area’s Mexican heritage. The Olvera Street Merchants Association Foundation, represented by the Becket Group, has asked to join the suit to defend the cross and Nativity. According to a release from Beckett, the 10-foot wooden cross was installed at Olvera Street in honor of Los Angeles’s 148^th birthday. The Nativity is brought out annually as part of the Las Posadas celebration every year. “For generations, the merchants of Olvera Street have kept the neighborhood‘s rich Mexican-American heritage alive. Now one observer wants to take down the parts of that heritage that include religion. Thankfully, the First Amendment doesn’t include a third-party veto over history and culture merely because it acknowledges religion,” said Andrea Butler, counsel at Becket.

Members of the suit have families that go back as far as the 1930s when the marketplace was started. Butler insisted that public displays of faith should be considered “natural” and that it shouldn’t have to be removed simply because someone is offended. “Los Angeles shouldn’t have to erase its own history every time someone takes offense,” said Butler. “The cross and nativity are woven into the fabric of El Pueblo. Nothing in the Constitution requires those traditions to be torn away. The city should be free to keep its full history, including the parts that happen to be religious.” Valerie Hanley, treasurer of the Olvera Street Merchants Association Foundation, voiced her support for the displays. “Olvera Street is not just a part of our families’ heritage, it’s at the heart of Los Angeles’s history. One offended bystander shouldn’t get to decide which parts of our City’s story we can tell.”