Two anti-abortion groups who had members arrested in August for writing “Black pre-born Lives Matter” outside of a D.C. Planned Parenthood office filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, claiming that the city used the defacement of public property laws to “silence disfavored speech”.
Attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the complaint on behalf of the Frederick Douglas Foundation and Students for Life of America in lieu of an incident on the morning of August 1, when a group of nearly two dozen people painted “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” on the sidewalk. Two of the protestors were arrested outside of the Planned Parenthood facility and charged with defacing property.
Members of the anti-abortion advocacy group considered their actions part of a larger campaign to highlight the impact of abortion on Black communities, according to the Washington Post. The protestors were released an hour after they were detained.
The lawsuit pointed to photographs of the “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund The Police” murals painted in downtown D.C, and argued that the First Amendment prohibits the government from “picking and choosing whose speech to allow.” Graves also argued the government cannot silence certain viewpoints and permit others.
In the lawsuit, both groups claimed they were given verbal permission by a Metropolitan Police Officer and therefore were allowed to proceed with chalking the street. Frederick Douglass Foundation Virginia Chapter President J.R. Gurley, who is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, stated the city should not be able to “silence and punish” them for expressing ideas it does not agree with. In a press release, Gurley also said “Government officials can’t discriminate against peaceful displays on the basis of our beliefs about abortion when they have allowed other groups the same avenues to express their beliefs.”
Other conservative advocacy groups have sued D.C. over the Black Lives Matter Plaza mural since its creation this summer. Judicial Watch, a nonprofit conservative organization that helps “fight government corruption on every level,” also filed a lawsuit against the District for denying them the opportunity to slogan — “Because No One Is Above The Law!” — on another city street.
The office of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, a Democrat, has not yet commented on the ongoing case. Meanwhile, Students for Life of America and The Frederick Douglass Foundation continue to make their cases on D.C.’s streets, which appear to have turned into a sort of public forum.
