LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Protesters have taken to Louisville streets for 75 consecutive days. 

Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) has put new restrictions in place for protesters. The “rules of engagement” (ROE) went into effect on Sunday and prevents protesters from marching on the streets and using vehicle caravans to block roadways in Louisville. 

LMPD made the announcement on Facebook over the weekend saying the changes were made to address ongoing safety concerns. 

Attorney David Mour however says this is an attack on protesters' constitutional rights of free speech and has filed a lawsuit on behalf of F.I.R.M. Initiative, an activist group responsible for organizing several peaceful protests.

 “The quintessential, probably the most sacred of American constitutional rights are those that allow us to assemble to free speech to protest,” Mour said. 

The lawsuit says the right to assemble is also under Kentucky’s Constitution. 

“Our state constitution gives us the right of assembly, the right of free speech, the right to protest, and one of the ways it's done is through marching through the street if you are marching on the sidewalk no one is paying attention to you,” Mour said. "That’s the limited issue in the lawsuit is that we believe LMPD’s blanket prohibition against marching in the street is unlawful.”

Mour also has concerns the prohibition against cars following protesters could result in injuries. 

“There must be vehicles at the front and the back to guard the intersection because you can’t just have protesters walking out into an open intersection without making sure they are safe,” he said. “We can’t rely on LMPD for that because LMPD has shown time and time again over the past few months they have no interest in protecting protesters. None.”

The lawsuit is seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against the ROE and says the response to the lawsuit from members of the community has been mixed. 

“I’m not asking the police not to do their job. I’m not trying to stop the police from doing their job but it’s important that everyone recognize this is not just an exercise of constitutional rights but statutory rights,” he said. "They decided in Kentucky as long as traffic can pass and the intersections aren’t blocked it is legal to march in the streets. I mean what more American right can there be."

This is the second lawsuit filed against LMPD over their response to the protests. ACLU of Kentucky has filed a lawsuit over excessive use of force. 

Request for comment from the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office went unanswered.