According to a new court filing, several abortion opponents have agreed to settle their lawsuit against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Visitors to this year’s “March for Life” filed a lawsuit against the federal agency in February.
The abortion opponents reportedly traveled to Washington, D.C., for the annual pro-life event first formed in 1974. They went to protest the passing of Roe v. Wade. However, according to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), security officers denied the visitors entry.
The security officers reportedly told the visitors at separate instances to remove or cover up clothing displaying pro-life messages. Otherwise, they would not grant them entry into the building on January 20, 2023. According to the ACLJ, a security officer told the groups that their political apparel was “disturbing the peace.”
In addition, the security officer said, it could “incite others.” The ACLJ said they told a visitor wearing a t-shirt titled “MARCH 4 LIFE 2014: Saint Cecilia’s Youth Group, Glen Carbon, IL,” to cover up or change her “offensive” shirt.
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However, after over nine excruciating months of legal proceedings, the Christian legal group announced a settlement. They reportedly settled with the government agency over the incident, which they argued violated their clients’ First Amendment rights.
According to the court filing, the National Archives agreed to pay $10,000 to the three plaintiffs represented by the ACLJ in the suit. In addition, the settlement includes measures to prevent the situation from happening again. Hence, the agency provided additional training to its employees.
Also, NARA agreed to a consent order in February, which conforms to not prohibiting visitors from wearing whatever they want. According to them, these include “t-shirts, hats, buttons, or other attire that displays protest language, including religious and political speech.”
According to the consent order filed by parties in the U.S. District Court in Washington, which Judge Timothy Kelly signed, NARA regrets asking the plaintiffs to “remove or cover articles of clothing expressing their religious and other beliefs.”
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ACLJ executive director Jordan Sekulow said they would allow their clients to view security footage of that day. Sekulow says this will help “to confirm certain representations NARA officials made for themselves.” Also, Sekulow highlighted the timeliness of the pro-life victory.
He said abortion opponents are preparing to travel to Washington for the 2024 March for Life in January. “This is an especially important victory, as one month from today, pro-life Americans will once again gather in Washington, D.C.”
“Our victory today ensures they will be free from harassment,” Sekulow added. He said it shows the court will uphold their First Amendment rights should they choose to visit the National Archives.
In addition, Sekulow wrote in his announcement that an investigation confirmed that a security company NARA contracted was “fully responsible.” Consequently, he said NARA officials had no idea the security official targeted their clients.
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After the ACLJ filed the lawsuit in February, NARA apologized for the incident. In addition, the agency admitted that the security officer’s actions violated their policy. Also, NARA acknowledged the symbolism of the incident occurring within the same building housing landmark civil rights documents.
“As the home to the original Constitution and Bill of Rights,” the statement started, “Which enshrine the rights of free speech and religion, we sincerely apologize for this occurrence.” Following the public outrage, the agency fired the security officer who stopped the visitors earlier this year.
While the ACLJ scored a win in the lawsuit against NARA, they have a similar pending case. The ACLJ filed a free speech lawsuit against the Washington National Air and Space Museum.
Like the security officer at NARA, the museum’s security staff also ordered visitors to remove or cover “pro-life” clothing. The museum also apologized and faulted the security staff. In addition, they admitted that the security staff violated the museums’ policies for objecting to the plaintiffs’ clothing.
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