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Alliance Defending Freedom has agreed to assist the city of King with the litigation filed by Steven Hewett.

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Alliance Defending Freedom will come to the city’s aid in the case of Steven Hewett vs. City of King.

The Alliance has agreed to provide counsel at no charge to the city. The King City Council unanimously approved the appointment of the ADF during a meeting Monday night.

The Alliance, as defined in the contract with the city, is “a civil liberties education and legal defense organization that provides legal representation.” According to its website, “Alliance Defending Freedom is a servant ministry building an alliance to keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system and advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom will face off against Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Both groups have handled cases garnering national attention.

Americans United filed the lawsuit against King on behalf of local veteran Steven Hewett last year, claiming the city “is violating the U.S. and North Carolina constitutions by displaying sectarian symbols at a veterans’ memorial.” On behalf of Hewett, the group is asking the city to remove Christian symbols from its veterans memorial, including the Christian flag and a statue that depicts a soldier kneeling before a cross.

Hewett, a former police officer and decorated U.S. Army veteran, first asked the city to remove the Christian flag from its veterans memorial in 2010. The request sparked strong controversy in the city and resulted in King creating a lottery system for determining which religious flag will fly at the memorial each week. The Christian flag flies most weeks of the year, which is pointed out in the lawsuit paperwork.

According to a press release on its website, the Alliance Defense Fund — now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom — helped the city craft the limited public forum policy governing the display of religious flags at the veterans memorial.

The King City Council went into closed session Monday night to discuss the lawsuit but did not take any further action after coming out of closed session.