Owner of 708 bar and grill denied the right to speak about bar's closure

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The owner of 708 Bar and Grill faced the Huntsville City Council on Thursday to get the popular bar back open.

But the owner, Malcolm Gopher, was denied the chance to speak about anything directly related to the bar by the city attorney.

On Friday, the doors to the bar that Gopher built were chained and locked after a Madison County judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit from the city of Huntsville to shut it down.

The city cited multiple incidents of violence and a violation of the city’s noise ordinance.

Before Gopher could speak on the matter, Huntsville City Attorney Trey Riley said that Gopher nor any community members could speak about anything about the injunction nor the case, and that it is inappropriate for the council to listen to any c