The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, after successfully moving a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Luther Strange to federal court, have filed a motion seeking to dismiss the lawsuit.

Strange filed a lawsuit Feb. 19 in Elmore County Circuit Court to try to shut down PCI’s Wind Creek Casino, saying that it is a “public nuisance.”

In their motion, the PCI Gaming Authority and other defendants cited Strange’s own words in a letter to attorneys for Victoryland in 2012.

The PCI motion states: “In fact, he contrasted non-Indian gaming facilities, such as Victoryland — where Alabama law applies — with Indian gaming facilities — ‘where federal law governs,’ where ‘the state does not have jurisdiction,’ and where the attorney general ‘do(es) not have jurisdiction to enforce either federal or Alabama law.'”

PCI’s motion also states that the lawsuit “comprises part of a concerted effort by the State of Alabama to usurp federal authority and impinge upon tribal sovereignty on lands that the United States holds in trust for the benefit of PBCI. This effort is unavailing.”

In a letter last month to Strange, the federal Indian Gaming Authority stated that the state did not have the right to regulate the gaming at Wind Creek or other Indian gaming facilities in Alabama.

Strange responded that he disagreed with that opinion.