Ellwood City Mayor Anthony Court says the banner from the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis. violates the First Amendment by endorsing atheism, while the crGeche that is central to the display is "as statue. It's not a doctrinal statement."
Hundreds of people turned out to support the mayor's decision to go ahead with the display Friday, which also includes symbols pertaining to Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.
The Wisconsin group had threatened a lawsuit if the city about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh went ahead with the display. The mayor says he would not back down in displaying the crGeche, a holiday fixture for decades.
