Indigenous-led group NDN Collective announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit in South Dakota federal court against a local hotel operator after she pledged on social media to ban Native Americans from the hotel.

The owner’s social media post came after a shooting last weekend at the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City in which the victim and the suspect were Native American. Grand Gateway owner Connie Uhre wrote on Facebook that she would “no long [sic] allow any Native American” on the property, which includes a casino and bar. Following the spread of Uhre’s quote on social media, the entire bar staff and some of the hotel staff reportedly quit.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Brendan Johnson, a former US attorney for South Dakota, and it seeks class action status. Protesters took to the streets of Rapid City in support of the lawsuit on Wednesday, carrying tribal flags and signs of support.

“We need to be clear. We don’t file this complaint to send a message. We file this complaint because we want justice,” Johnson said at a press conference.

Such a ban would seemingly violate the public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, South Dakota Public Broadcasting noted, which states that “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of . . . accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.” Hotels are specifically listed as a place of public accommodation in the following section.

The Facebook post sparked widespread condemnation from local government, citizens, businesses, law enforcement and the Oglala Sioux Tribe. These groups all signed a letter condemning the ban, which was posted on the website for the Rapid City Mayor’s Office on Tuesday.

The letter stated:

Much work has been done to build a level of trust, to forge relationships and partnerships, and to address major issues involving Rapid City and our Native American community. However, such racist and hateful statements as expressed by a few individuals only reinforces long-standing feelings of distrust and threatens the relationship of the Rapid City community with its Native American residents and visitors.