Arizona man threatened with arrest for preaching at holiday festival files lawsuit

Tucson residents who attend the Winterhaven Festival of Lights could see the city’s rules for speech tested in federal court after an evangelist said police removed him from the public holiday event and threatened him with arrest. David Hoffman, who had attended the festival for nearly a decade, is suing the city and two Tucson police officers over restrictions that he says prevented him from discussing Jesus with visitors. His lawsuit seeks to change the rules before the next festival and asks a judge to declare the policy unconstitutional.

The dispute centers on the December 2025 Winterhaven festival, a free annual event in a Tucson residential neighborhood where thousands of people walk through streets to see holiday light displays. Hoffman says he has regularly used large public gatherings to speak with people who might not attend a church. He describes his approach as conversational evangelism, including asking people about their beliefs, discussing Christianity and offering religious literature.

According to the complaint filed by First Liberty Institute, Tucson had adopted an event policy before the 2025 festival that barred religious, political and issue based leafleting. Notices at festival entrances reportedly warned that people violating the policy could be removed and face criminal trespassing charges. Hoffman says officers told him he could enter the event to look at the lights, but that speaking with visitors or handing out a gospel tract would violate the rules.

The lawsuit describes several exchanges between Hoffman and officers. When he asked whether he was speaking too loudly, an officer allegedly told him that the concern was not his volume but the message he was communicating. Officers also characterized asking people whether they wanted to discuss Jesus as “sermonizing,” according to the complaint. Hoffman then asked whether he could answer if a visitor approached him with a question about salvation. The officers allegedly said that conversation would have to take place beyond the festival boundary.

After repeated warnings, four uniformed Tucson officers escorted Hoffman away from the festival, the lawsuit says. He was told he could continue preaching in a designated free expression area outside the event. Hoffman described the space as a corner enclosed by barricades beside a busy street. First Liberty argues that the location made it difficult to engage in meaningful conversations with people attending Winterhaven, who were inside the festival perimeter to view the lights.

The organization also says the restrictions were applied selectively. Its complaint states that food vendors, live entertainers and 15 passenger pedal bikes with amplified music were allowed to operate throughout the festival, while Hoffman was prevented from discussing religion with visitors. First Liberty’s attorneys argue that the policy treated religious expression differently from other forms of conversation and improperly limited speech on public streets and sidewalks, locations that generally receive strong constitutional protection.

Hoffman’s case raises several legal claims. First Liberty alleges that Tucson violated his rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and protections in the Arizona Constitution. The complaint names the city, along with Tucson police officers Matt Alexander and William Leonard, in their individual capacities. Hoffman is seeking both a preliminary and permanent court order allowing him to share the gospel at the upcoming festival, as well as a ruling that the policy cannot legally be enforced.

Before filing the lawsuit, First Liberty said it sent Tucson a demand letter in December 2025 warning that the event policy was unconstitutional. The organization says the city did not respond. First Liberty senior counsel Nate Kellum accused Tucson of suppressing a Christian viewpoint at a public Christmas event, while legal counsel Garrett Bell argued that the city should not be able to allow ordinary discussions about subjects such as sports or the weather while prohibiting religious conversations. The organization’s position is that a public street festival remains a public forum even when it is organized around holiday entertainment.

The city of Tucson has said it does not comment on pending litigation. Tucson police did not immediately provide a response to requests for comment. The lawsuit’s requested injunction could determine whether Hoffman may return to the festival and speak with attendees without facing removal or trespassing charges. For Tucson residents, the case will also put a local question before the court: how far the city can go in regulating speech at a crowded neighborhood event while managing visitor safety, event operations and the constitutional rights of people who want to express religious views.