In July 1962, two civil cases were brought before the U.S. District Court in Albany, Georgia. The first, filed by Albany Mayor Asa Kelley, sought to prevent Albany Movement leader W.G. Anderson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others from peacefully protesting in public areas of the city. The second suit, filed by the defendants in the first suit, sought an injunction enjoining Mayor Kelley and the City of Albany from denying the plaintiffs their right to assemble.