The Justice Department is investigating a spiritual group's allegations of religious discrimination against a Houston hotel that canceled their reservations during an October 2002 visit by then-Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kim Smith confirmed the investigation announced Tuesday by the Liberty Legal Institute, a Plano-based religious liberties law firm, but declined further comment.
The institute said in a statement that the preliminary investigation doesn't mean violations will be found in connection with the Homestead Studio Suites' cancellation of reservations of all identified as being affiliated with spiritual group Falun Gong.
The group had booked the reservations a month in advance and had planned to stay there while protesting Zemin during his visit.
Last year, 72 members of the group sued the hotel, claiming the reservations for them and others with Asian names were canceled at the request of a Chinese agency seeking to suppress the protest. The hotel said in 2002 the cancellations were prompted by overbooking.