AFDI Lawsuit: “a clash between our American values and the fundamental right to freedom of speech on the one hand and those values espoused by sharia-adherent Muslims who want to suppress speech through violence on the other”

“This lawsuit represents a clash between our American values and the fundamental right to freedom of speech on the one hand and those values espoused by sharia-adherent Muslims who want to suppress speech through violence on the other. In direct contravention of our Constitution, the WMATA is siding with the jihadists and silencing our clients’ political speech. This is known as a ‘heckler’s veto,’ which is impermissible under the First Amendment.” Robert Muise

Our free speech lawsuit will be heard in DC on October 4, 2012. Bring plenty of popcorn. This is going to be good. As good as it gets.

Federal Court Hearing Scheduled in AFLC’s Challenge to D.C. Transit Authority’s Refusal to Run Anti-Jihad Advertisement 

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U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary M. Collyer has scheduled a hearing for October 4, 2012 on the American Freedom Law Center
(AFLC)’s request for an injunction to halt the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (WMATA)’s censorship of a pro-Israel/anti-jihad
bus advertisement.  The hearing will take place at 2:00 p.m. EDT in
Courtroom 8 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
located at 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., in Washington, D.C.  The
hearing is open to the media and the general public. 

At
issue in the lawsuit is the WMATA’s decision to delay running a
pro-Israel/anti-jihad advertisement on its Metro system until some
unknown “future date” due to alleged concerns about “the situations
happening around the world” and the “security and safety” of its
passengers.  The WMATA’s decision was based upon current events in which
Muslims are engaging in violent jihad in Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere in
an alleged protest of free speech in the United States that is critical
of Islam.  As a result of the WMATA’s censorship of core political
speech, AFLC filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the
sponsors of the advertisement, the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI) and
its executive directors, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.  The lawsuit
challenges the WMATA’s unconstitutional restriction on FDI’s right to
engage in protected speech in a public forum.  

AFLC
Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Robert Muise commented: “This lawsuit
represents a clash between our American values and the fundamental right
to freedom of speech on the one hand and those values espoused by
sharia-adherent Muslims who want to suppress speech through violence on
the other.  In direct contravention of our Constitution, the WMATA is
siding with the jihadists and silencing our clients’ political speech.
 This is known as a ‘heckler’s veto,’ which is impermissible under the
First Amendment.”

The
planned advertisement states, “In Any War Between the Civilized Man and
the Savage, Support the Civilized Man.  Support Israel.  Defeat Jihad.”
 
This
same advertisement is scheduled to run today in New York City as a
result of a successful lawsuit filed by AFLC.  AFLC sued the New York
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) after it refused to run the
advertisement in September 2011, claiming that the ad violated the MTA’s
policy against displaying “images or information that demean an
individual or group of individuals on account of race, color, religion,
national origin, ancestry, gender, age, disability or sexual
orientation.”  On August 29, 2012, a New York federal judge struck down
the MTA’s “no-demeaning speech” restriction, permanently enjoined its
enforcement, and ordered the MTA to display the bus advertisement.