(JustPatriots.com)- Students for Life say they will sue Muriel Bowser, the Democratic mayor of Washington, D.C., after two students were arrested by police for writing a pro-life message in chalk in front of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.
One staffer of the pro-life group as well as a student activist were arrested by police because they wrote “Black Preborn Lives Matter” in chalk outside the clinic. Kristan Hawkins, the group’s president, wrote a letter outlining the lawsuit, which claims Bowser violated Students for Life’s rights under the First Amendment.
The letter reads:
“The next place Mayor Bowser will see us will be in the courtroom. Because Students for Life will sue the city of Washington, D.C., for violating our First Amendment rights to free speech and expression.”
During their demonstration, Students for Life members were met with six police cars. Video footage shows officers threatened to arrest members of the group, and then they handcuffed staffer Warner DePriest as well Erica Caporaletti, a student of Towson University.
A spokeswoman for Students for Life, Kristi Hamrick, said both were charged with defacing public and private property.
Alaina Gertz, a spokeswoman for the city’s police department, said:
“Both individuals were citation released. Prior to authorizing the arrests, the lieutenant onsite issued multiple warnings to the individuals writing on the sidewalk that doing so was in violation of D.C. code.”
That claim is likely to be at the heart of the lawsuit, though. Students for Life says it received a permit for their demonstration in Washington, D.C., on August 1. They were given instructions from the city that they use temporary paint for any messaging they wrote.
Group members say they initially planned to write in temporary paint, but decided to use sidewalk chalk after police officers confronted them.
What’s more, Bowser and the city allowed protesters to write “Black Lives Matter” and other political messages including “defund the police” in permanent paint downtown in the city.
As Hamrick said:
“[The permit] has been turned over to the attorney as this is now a legal matter. But to be clear, two students were arrested for chalking. We applied for an event permit in which we were told we would not be prevented from painting and told what paint to buy.”
As of yet, Bowser’s office hasn’t responded to requests for comment regarding the situation. The Planned Parenthood office in question couldn’t confirm to The Washington Free Beacon whether police arrived on scene because of a request about the Students for Life demonstration.
In her letter, Hawkins accused the D.C. mayor of promoting free speech only to her political allies. The letter further reads:
“Well, Mayor Bowser, you’re about to get WOKE on Planned Parenthood’s racist past and present. You’re about to get WOKE on the violence of abortion. You’re about to get WOKE on the FIRST AMENDMENT.”
Students for Life has hired attorneys to start the necessary legal action. While no lawsuit has been filed yet, the group says it plans to do so in the near future.
