Occupy Cedar Rapids protesters gather in a vacant lot where they've been camping since last month on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Protesters ignored the city's demand to clear the lot of their tents and other personal property by Tuesday morning. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)

UPDATE: A lawsuit filed by the Occupy Cedar Rapids protester group is headed to federal court.

Occupy Cedar Rapids filed a lawsuit last week, asking a judge to issue an injunction to prevent the city from removing tents and other property from a city-owned lot they have been occupying.

The city filed paperwork in U.S. District Court last week, saying that First Amendment issues raised by the Occupy group should be resolved in federal court.

“Plaintiffs allege a violation of their rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to freely assemble and speak,” an attorney for Cedar Rapids wrote in a notice filed in federal court.

An injunction hearing had been scheduled for Monday afternoon in state court, but the hearing was canceled.

The local Occupy movement began in Greene Square Park several weeks ago and moved to the corner of M Avenue and First Street NW around the beginning of November.