Asks NY Mayor to Paint ‘Because No One Is Above the Law’ on Fifth Ave.

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a civil rights lawsuit against DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and other officials for First Amendment violations over their refusal to allow Judicial Watch to paint the message “Because No One Is Above the Law!” on a DC street. (Judicial Watch. v. Muriel Bowser, et al. (No. 1:20-cv-01789)).

On June 5, 2020, after days of protests and riots in Washington, DC, led by the Black Lives Matter organization, Mayor Bowser authorized the painting of “Black Lives Matter” on 16th Street NW, and later authorized or allowed “Defund the Police” to be painted alongside it.

On June 10, 2020, Judicial Watch sent a letter requesting permission to paint “Because No One is Above the Law!” in the identical size and coloring of the “Black Lives Matter” painting on another DC street near its headquarters near Capitol Hill. Judicial Watch offered to pay for the cost of the painting and, citing the timely nature of the issue, asked for a response in three days.

Instead, after three weeks of emails with the Mayor’s office, Judicial Watch has yet to receive a substantive response to its street painting request.

The lawsuit alleges that DC officials denied timely, equal access to Judicial Watch to paint its own expressive message and violated federal civil rights law in:

(a) allowing District streets to be used for the painting of expressive messages, which constitutes protected, First Amendment activity, but denying Plaintiff (Judicial Watch) the timely opportunity to paint its expressive message on a District street for reasons that are not narrowly drawn to achieve a compelling government interest; (b) failing to provide a reasonable basis for denying Plaintiff the timely opportunity to paint is expressive message on a District street; (c) favoring the expressive messages painted on 16th Street NW and/or creating the appearance of endorsing those messages to the exclusion of Plaintiff’s message on a related subject matter; and/or (d) failing to provide reasonable, non-arbitrary processes and procedures for timely consideration of Plaintiff’s request to paint an expressive message on District streets.

“Mayor Bowser gave us the runaround rather than access, as the First Amendment requires, to a DC street to paint our timely message and motto: Because No One is Above the Law!” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Our message is especially relevant today because it applies equally to law enforcement and public officials as well as to protesters, looters, and rioters.”

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https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-releases/sues-dc-paint/