Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has sued the city of San Antonio after officials refused to hand over documents related to its decision to block Chick-fil-A from opening a location in its airport.

The San Antonio City Council voted in favor of excluding Chick-fil-A from a concession space project at the airport in March. The city cited the restaurant's opposition to LGBT rights. Councilors voted just days after it was reported that Chick-fil-A donated nearly $2 million in 2017 to groups that oppose LGBT rights. Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy has repeatedly stated his opposition to marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

(Related: Chick-fil-A's Dan Cathy says gay marriage is “twisted stuff.”)

Paxton's lawsuit seeks emails and internal communications from city employees and city council members related to the action against Chick-fil-A. In a statement, Paxton accused the city of violating the restaurant's religious liberty.

“The City of San Antonio claims that it can hide documents because it anticipates being sued,” Paxton said. “But we’ve simply opened an investigation using the Public Information Act. If a mere investigation is enough to excuse the City of San Antonio from its obligation to be transparent with the people of Texas, then the Public Information Act is a dead letter. The city’s extreme position only highlights its fear about allowing any sunshine on the religious bigotry that animated its decision.”

Speaking with the Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said that Paxton's rhetoric shows that he is incapable of conducting an impartial investigation, adding that Paxton's investigation was a “pretense to justify his own conclusions.”

In denying the state's request to hand over documents, city officials said that they were unable to comply with the request because the documents could be involved in future lawsuits.

Paxton has previously opposed Target's policy allowing transgender individuals to use the bathroom of their choice – saying it could lead to “criminal activity” – and marriage for same-sex couples.