2 groups opposed to abortion sue D.C.

WASHINGTON — Two anti-abortion groups whose members were arrested for chalking outside a Planned Parenthood office in August sued the District of Columbia on Wednesday, alleging that the city used laws on defacement of public property to “silence disfavored speech.”

The complaint was filed by attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life of America, among others.

The office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

The filing concerns an Aug. 1 incident when a group of about two dozen people led by Students for Life of America showed up to paint “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” in front of the Planned Parenthood office in Washington.

Police arrested two protesters after warning them that they would be detained if they painted the street and telling them that they could not write on the sidewalk with chalk, either, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit includes photographs of the “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund The Police” murals painted in downtown D.C. to argue that the city’s actions were based on “blatant viewpoint discrimination” that violates the U.S. Constitution.

“The government can’t discriminate against certain viewpoints by allowing some voices to be heard while silencing others,” Elissa Graves, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement.