CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A veteran whose son was killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole has sued officers at the Marine base where he works, saying they violated his free-speech rights by barring his bumper stickers that link Islam with terrorism.

Jesse Nieto has worked as a civilian at an electrical distribution shop on Camp Lejeune since 1994. He previously served 25 years in the Marine Corps, including two combat tours as an infantryman in Vietnam, according to his federal lawsuit filed Nov. 10.

The lawsuit — which does not seek monetary damages — asks the court to declare that Nieto's constitutional rights were violated by the Marines and to allow him to express his political viewpoints on federal installations.

A Camp Lejeune spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment in time for this story.

Several months after his youngest son, Marc, was killed in a suicide-bomb attack on the Cole in Yemen, Nieto began displaying decals on his vehicle expressing his anger over the death "at the hands of Islamic terrorists," his lawsuit states.

At one point, Nieto displayed on his vehicle at least a half-dozen anti-Muslim decals, including "ISLAM TERRORISM," and a red line superimposed on the Islamic star and crescent with the words "WE DIED, THEY REJOICED."

In July, Nieto's supervisor told him he would be fired from his job unless he removed the decals, the lawsuit states.

In August, Lt. Col. James Hessen, the base's traffic court officer, ordered Nieto to peel off the anti-Islam decals, according to the lawsuit. Nieto did so while a Marine observed. Two weeks later, Hessen ordered Nieto to remove the rest of his decals, including one that said "REMEMBER THE COLE, 12 Oct. 2000," the lawsuit states. Nieto refused.

Hessen also issued an order barring Nieto from driving his vehicle onto any military installation, which includes his workplace and Arlington National Cemetery, where Nieto's son is buried, the lawsuit said.

Camp Lejeune has a standing order that vehicle owners are prohibited from displaying "extremist, indecent, sexists, or racist messages." But there are no objective standards for determining whether a decal violates the order, the lawsuit states.

"Thus, Defendants have unbridled discretion to determine which political viewpoints are permitted and which are prohibited," the lawsuit states.

Base public affairs director Maj. Nat Fahy told the Jacksonville Daily News that commanders acted after Camp Lejeune's Equal Employment Opportunity office received several complaints about the "offensive nature" of Nieto's stickers.

"He had ample opportunity to remedy the situation on his own and was given an opportunity to be heard in three formal administrative venues," Fahy said. Nieto was not barred from coming to work, only that his vehicle could not come on the base.