The federal government is suing the Philadelphia-area swim club that blocked Black and Latino children from participating in a summer camp last June.

 In its lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department alleges that the Valley Club in Montgomery County, near Philadelphia, established a rule on June 30 designed to ensure that 56 children from the Creative Steps camp, who had visited the day before, did not return. The rule to bar all summer camps was "in response to racially motivated opposition from Valley Club members . . . with the intention of preventing the children of Creative Steps from returning," federal prosecutors contend.

 The Justice Department is also asking that the Valley Club be ordered to stop all discrimination and discriminatory policies.

 In November, the Valley Club – possibly facing millions in punitive damages – filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed at the end of the summer; it has announced that it is selling off its assets.