Food truck removed from Statehouse Market over slogan; could have free speech implications

(INDIANA CAPTIAL CHRONICLE) — A food truck that’s been a regular at the Indiana Statehouse’s weekly market for about two years had its participation revoked over a slogan on the side of the vehicle, and one law professor thinks it brings First Amendment questions.

In an email to Smash Daddy’s Burgers, Fries, Etc., a state personnel department official said they’d “received several complaints regarding the slogan” and, as a result, had “been directed to cancel” two upcoming sessions.

Owner Scott Sims said the suggestive saying — “you’ll love our meat in your mouth” — had rarely been an issue before.

“I could count on one hand the complaints I’ve had over the last 20 years,” said Sims, who’s used the slogan both for a previous restaurant — called Between the Bun — and since launching his truck at the end of 2023.

But recently, two parties took issue with it: a Christian school a...