<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON<\/strong> \u2013 Chuck Redd, the musician who canceled a Christmas Eve performance<\/a> at the Kennedy Center in protest of President Donald Trump’s<\/a> influence over the venue, is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit the performing arts institution brought against him.<\/p>\n In a motion filed in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, lawyers for Redd said the breach of contract suit should be dismissed because he wasn’t contractually obligated to perform. The motion included the contract provided by the Kennedy Center, which the artist never signed. <\/p>\n But his lawyers argued there was more at stake than contract law, portraying the Kennedy Center’s suit as an effort to intimidate artists.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Kennedy Center filed this lawsuit to send a message to anyone who dares to publicly disagree with the decisions of those in power,\u201d lawyers Debra S. Katz and Lisa J. Banks said in a statement.<\/p>\n Representatives for the Kennedy Center didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the motion.<\/p>\n Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has presided over holiday \u201cJazz Jams\u201d at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He called off last year’s performance shortly after Trump’s handpicked board at the Kennedy Center voted to add the president’s name<\/a> to the facility. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,\u201d Redd told The Associated Press in an email at the time.<\/p>\n Within days of his decision, Richard Grenell<\/a>, the Kennedy Center’s president at the time, sent him a letter calling the cancellation<\/a> \u201cclassic intolerance and very costly to a nonprofit Arts institution.\u201d Grenell threatened to seek $1 million in damages and the Kennedy Center filed suit on March 6.<\/p>\n