ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A lawsuit filed Thursday challenges the constitutionality of two Anchorage ordinances banning panhandlers and restricting people from sitting on sidewalks in the downtown area.

The ordinances passed by the Anchorage Assembly in November 2011 reflect a “police state mentality,” Jeffrey Mittman, head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, said at a news conference attended by several plaintiffs, including a street performance artist and the president of the Alaska AFL-CIO.