A federal appeals court docket dominated Tuesday that pro-life activists arrested for sidewalk chalking exterior a Planned Parenthood in the course of the Black Lives Matter heyday have been seemingly victims of viewpoint discrimination, reviving a case {that a} decrease court docket had dismissed.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided in a 3-0 resolution with the Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life of America, the pro-life teams behind the August 2020 protest at which two college students have been arrested for writing “Black Preborn Lives Matter” in chalk on the sidewalk.
Both have been accused of defacing public property. Given that Black Lives Matter protesters had been allowed to color and chalk messages on the streets that summer time with out punishment, the appellate court docket mentioned there was benefit within the pro-life teams’ declare of selective enforcement.
“We hold the Foundation has plausibly alleged the District discriminated on the basis of viewpoint in the selective enforcement of its defacement ordinance,” Judge Neomi Rao mentioned within the 42-page opinion. “We therefore reverse the dismissal of the Foundation’s First Amendment claim and remand for further proceedings.”
Judge Rao, a Trump appointee, affirmed the U.S. District Court’s dismissal of the equal safety violations, saying the inspiration “has not plausibly alleged invidious discrimination by District officials.”
“Discriminatory motive, however, is not an element of a First Amendment free speech selective enforcement claim,” mentioned Judge Rao. “The First Amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of viewpoint irrespective of the government’s motive.”
The resolution marks a victory for pro-life activists who had accused the District of violating their First Amendment rights.
“Washington officials can’t censor messages they disagree with. The right to free speech is for everyone, and we’re pleased the D.C. Circuit agreed that the Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life should be able to exercise their constitutionally protected freedom to peacefully share their views the same as anyone else,” mentioned Erin Hawley, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel, who represents the pro-life organizations.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, referred to as the unanimous resolution “very encouraging.”
“Viewpoint discrimination is un-American, and as the case proceeds, we look forward to learning more about how D.C. officials picked winners and losers in their enforcement,” mentioned Ms. Hawkins. “Free speech rights you’re afraid to use don’t really exist, and we will keep fighting for the rights of our students to stand up for the preborn and their mothers.”
BREAKING: A serious free speech ruling was made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit!
They upheld the First Amendment rights of two pro-life organizations that sought to chalk pro-life messages on a metropolis sidewalk.
Pro-life speech IS free speech! https://t.co/nRf1mcHg3t
— Students for Life Action (@SFLAction) August 15, 2023
J.R. Gurley, president of the Frederick Douglass Foundation’s Virginia chapter, mentioned the District “shouldn’t allow some groups to participate in the public forum and shun others from doing so just because city officials disagree with their viewpoint.”
The appeals court docket drew a pointy distinction between the response to the mass Black Lives Matter protests drawing 1000’s of demonstrators who painted and chalked streets, sidewalks and storefronts, and the small pro-life demonstration in entrance of the Planned Parenthood clinic on sixteenth Street NW.
“In the summer of 2020, thousands of protesters flooded the streets of the District to proclaim ‘Black Lives Matter,’” mentioned Judge Rao. “Over several weeks, the protesters covered streets, sidewalks, and storefronts with paint and chalk. The markings were ubiquitous and in open violation of the District’s defacement ordinance, yet none of the protesters were arrested.”
“During the same summer, District police officers arrested two pro-life advocates in a smaller protest for chalking ‘Black Pre-Born Lives Matter’ on a public sidewalk,” the choice mentioned.
The pro-life teams mentioned they got verbal permission by a metropolis official to color “Black Preborn Lives Matter” in entrance of the clinic, so long as they did so in washable tempera paint, but six police automobiles greeted them after they turned up for the protest.
“This lopsided prosecutorial response — several arrests for small, chalked pro-life messages and no arrests for widespread ‘Black Lives Matter’ messages — does not comport with the deterrence value or culpability associated with the number of protesters and the scope of defacement, suggesting improper selective enforcement,” mentioned Judge Rao.
The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia dropped the misdemeanor defacement expenses towards the 2 college students, Warner DePriest and Erica Caporaletti, in October 2021.
Concurring with Judge Rao have been Judges Robert L. Wilkins, an Obama appointee, and J. Michelle Childs, a Biden appointee.
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com