This video shows our attorney, Robert Muise of the American Freedom Law Center, arguing our free speech case against King County.

“King County’s restriction on our client’s speech is not only wrongheaded, it is clearly unconstitutional.”

This all started back in 2013, when the FBI was running a terrorism awareness campaign featuring bus ads depicting photos of sixteen of the world’s Most Wanted Terrorists.

This was a publicity campaign sponsored by the Joint Terrorism Task Force for the State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program. The ad featured the world’s leading global terrorists. As it happened, all but one were Muslim. Islamic supremacists and their leftist lapdogs demanded the want ad come down, claiming it was insulting to Muslims. The FBI caved and pulled the Seattle-area bus ads featuring the “Faces of Global Terrorism” after receiving complaints “that the ads stereotype Muslims.”

My organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), believed that this public awareness message was critical to national security and should run. We are constantly being clubbed with the claim that “moderate Muslims” abhor and reject the acts of terrorism that are constantly committed in the name of their religion, so why would they object to a wanted poster featuring Islamic terrorists who supposedly have twisted and hijacked their peaceful religion? Why would “moderate Muslims” provide cover for jihad terror? Why, indeed.

AFDI submitted a virtual copy of the FBI ad to run on Seattle transit. The cowards at Seattle King Metro refused to run the ad, claiming that it was disparaging to Muslims. Reality is disparaging to Muslims?

We sued Seattle King Metro. Predictably, the liberal fascists in Seattle sided with the supremacists. We appealed to the clowns on the notorious 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. And now they, as expected, ruled in favor of sharia and supremacism.

Of all the free speech legal battles I am embroiled in, this one is the most absurd. It illustrates the crippling submission and capitulation of government authorities to Islamic supremacist demands. And now it has gotten even more absurd: King County claimed last year that “AFDI…has directly forced six of the ten largest transit agencies in the United States to end all forms of political, public interest, and religious advertising. AFDI’s Pamela Geller calls this the ‘Geller Ban.’ Dkt. 57 (Declaration of Hackett, Ex. D (Geller Dep. at 44:19 – 45:1-4)). To date, not counting the transit systems chilled by AFDI’s ‘free speech’ campaign, the ‘Geller Ban’ has substantially limited the speech available to over 50 million Americans who live in the affected service areas.”

That’s right: they’re blaming us for the fascist, counter-free speech actions of the transit systems that changed their rules to ban all political ads rather than run our ads. This is like blaming a woman for being raped.

Our legal team at the American Freedom Law Center has responded:

The so-called “Geller Ban” referred to by the County is nothing more than a concerted effort by government officials to discriminate against Plaintiffs by seeking to close forums for Plaintiffs’ speech because the officials dislike the message. Plaintiffs refuse to surrender their freedoms to these government censors.

American Freedom Law Center:

Important First Amendment Case Argued in Ninth Circuit

Yesterday afternoon, American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Robert Muise argued before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Seattle, Washington, asking the court to reverse the trial court and require the King County transit authority to run Pamela Geller’s and Robert Spencer’s anti-terrorism ad because the County’s refusal to do so is an unconstitutional viewpoint-based restraint on free speech. The lawsuit was filed by AFLC in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle on behalf of Geller, Spencer, and their organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). According to the original complaint filed in 2013, in June of that year, King County displayed an advertisement submitted by the federal government that depicted the “Faces of Global Terrorism” in an effort to “stop a terrorist” and “save lives.”  The advertisement offered an “up to $25 million reward” for helping to capture one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists. The terrorists identified in the ad were also found on the FBI’s most wanted global terrorists list, which is posted on the FBI’s website.  At the time, this list included pictures and “wanted posters” for thirty-two terrorists.  Of the thirty-two listed terrorists, thirty were individuals with Muslim names or were wanted for terrorism related to organizations conducting terrorist acts in the name of Islam. According to news reports, the federal government terminated its “Faces of Global Terrorism” ad campaign after receiving complaints from politicians and advocacy groups that took offense that the list of wanted global terrorists pictured in the ad appeared to include only Muslim terrorists. Shortly after the government pulled the ad, Geller and Spencer, on behalf of AFDI, submitted an advertisement to King County that included the same pictures, names, and message as the government’s earlier display.  The King County transit authority refused to run the ad in part because it claimed the ad was not wholly accurate about which government agency ran the rewards program and the amount of the awards. After the courts agreed with the transit authority, AFDI submitted a second ad, this time making certain the ad was presented in such a way that removed the inaccuracy argument.  The transit authority still refused to run the ad on the grounds that it was disparaging to Muslims. The trial court agreed once again with the transit authority, and AFLC appealed to the Ninth Circuit.  Oral argument was held yesterday, and it can be viewed on the court’s website by clicking here.

 

The Truth Must be Told

Your contribution supports independent journalism

Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.

Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.

Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.

Please contribute here.

or

Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

• $25.00 here
• $50.00 here
• $75.00 here
• $100.00 here
• $250.00 here

0 0 votes

Article Rating

11 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Suresh

5 years ago

These Left/liberal pro-jihadi bureaucrats need to be kicked out , they support jihadis and suppress conservatives and those who oppose jihadis.

They are aided by the dumb , ignorant Left/Liberal loons coming out of colleges/schools run by pro-jihadi left/liberal loons

And by the time they realise their stupidity they get assaulted , gang raped or murdered like this couple its too late for them https://tinyurl.com/yahupccy

Problem is they enable evil while not able to see evil thanks to pro-jihadi left/liberal indoctrination in schools/colleges where real history of islam and America is no longer taught.

0

Ken Kruger

5 years ago

Reply to  Suresh

Its because they were taught not to be “judgemental”. Only problem is that even the one celled organisms have a modicum of being able to “judge” for the purpose of survival. Apparently amoebas have more intelligence than modern day “progressives”.

0

Thomas Faddis

5 years ago

That idiot on our right is crippled mentally as well as physically!

0

Dennis

5 years ago

In my opinion, the essence of your article which concerns the free speech First amendment claims granted under our Constitution, is not only the failure of a government agency to allow free speech, especially as to what you proposed in your ad, but, in fact, comes down to the reality that the Muslim world has not, nor can they ever be expected to do, overtly and actively reject the claims within their belief system that promotes dominance and overthrow of all other belief systems and government, and rights of non-believers. To all others we are “apes and Pigs,” though I believe that the radical believers are the vermin and I refer to them as the “rats and mosquitoes” of the world. The fact that the world of Islam has never rejected the totalitarian preaching within their belief system, should disable these believers from opposing and our commenting on the abhorrent conduct that is consistent with that belief system. Our country was never supposed to adopt the three monkey approach that involves seeing no evil, speaking no evil and hearing no evil. Free speech remains free speech unless that speech promotes violence. Your proposed ad IS consistent with our First Amendment’s rights, and the Supreme Court should reject this denial of both reality and the facts of life today, as nowhere is your ad it there a violation of the First Amendment, and you are correct in pointing out the absolute failure of these believers to earnestly and actively reject that dangerous and irreverent part of their belief system.

0

Thomas Faddis

5 years ago

So this douche is arguing that our own fbi is ‘disparaging’ mozlems, lol! (Just because the vast majority of terrorists ARE mozlems!)

0

Thomas Faddis

5 years ago

Hope you win Ms. Geller!

0

Ken Kruger

5 years ago

I have dealt with thousands of fellow employees in a close working environment for my entire professional career. I noticed quickly that the small-minded individuals and/or losers seem to have a certain lust for power. The power that I refer to is their ability to tell someone “NO”, be it a customer, or another employee. The real power is those who seek ways to say “YES”. These small-minded judges are power-tripping over our constitution…and tripping over each other to prove to their like-minded tyrants in Oregon and California who can be the most progressive aka, tyrannical.

0

Memri Dotorg

5 years ago

Wait, which guy in the ad isn’t Muslim?

0

Alleged-Comment

5 years ago

As KK pointed out. Only government cannot restrict free speech. But a private company can. My suggestion is to buy a bus and drive it all around town with your ads.

0

Henry Reardon

5 years ago

Considering how the Deep State version of our government operates, one has to wonder what manner of visitors come in the night, speaking of threats to family, friends, and jobs. How pervasive is Brennan’s control, Hillary’s extortion, Jeh Johnson’s minions in O-Bummers private army (Homeland Security), or what manner of Muslim infiltrators and influence in DoD? Can’t help but believe, through appointments and through threat of bodily injury, our government and our society is “owned” by the Deep State. In the end, it will be only a case of “I’ve been nice to you, please kill me last.”

0

darnash

5 years ago

This crap of being offended means that no ads can go up on buses. There are others besides me that find many ads offensive including ones that advertise health related products. I find those abhorrent. Does that mean that because it offends me you cannot run the ad? Everything offends someone. Ads promoting unlawful activity are the only ads that should be withheld.

0