On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that a lower court was wrong to dismiss a lawsuit brought forward by pro-life activists who argued that the city violated their First Amendment rights by arresting them for writing a slogan on a sidewalk in 2020.
In August 2020, police arrested 22-year-old Erica Caporaletti, a student at Towson University, and Warner DePriest, a 29-year old D.C. resident. According to The Washington Post, the two were writing “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” with chalk on the sidewalk outside a D.C. Planned Parenthood. It is reportedly illegal for people to write on public or private property without a permit.
Pro-life students were arrested for writing "Black Pre-born Lives Matter" outside a Washington DC Planned Parenthood with chalk. pic.twitter.com/C3n1fSWUqw
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 1, 2020
Shortly after, the pro-life activists sued D.C., arguing that their constitutional rights were violated because it allowed others to paint slogans like “Defund the Police” during the Black Lives Matter protests.
In 2021, a district court dismissed the lawsuit. This week, the appeals court ruled to allow the lawsuit to move forward.
“The First Amendment prohibits the government from favoring some speakers over others. Access to public fora must be open to everyone and to every message on the same terms. The District may act to prevent the defacement of public property, but it cannot open up its streets and sidewalks to some viewpoints and not others,” Judge Neomi Rao, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump, wrote in the opinion.
“During the summer of 2020, the District arrested individuals chalking “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” on the sidewalk, while making no arrests against the many individuals marking “Black Lives Matter” on sidewalks, streets, and other property,” Rao continued.
Conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom praised the ruling.
“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,” ADF Senior Counsel Erin Hawley, vice president of the ADF Center for Life and Regulatory Practice, said. “Every American deserves for their voice to be heard as they engage in important cultural and political issues of the day.”