May 26, 2003
Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
On May 26, 2003 the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that "as founder of a prominent Santeria church in Hialeah [FL], Ernesto Pichardo's first brush with City Hall came in the 1980s when the city banned animal sacrifices... Pichardo took his battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 and won... The decision is often cited as a landmark case that protects religious freedom... Now, the Santeria priest wants to take on the city's establishment again -- this time from the inside... Pichardo, who is considering a run for a seat on the City Council, says Hialeah has been operating like a dictatorship for much too long."