{"id":255619,"date":"2021-10-22T18:39:19","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T23:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=255619"},"modified":"2021-10-22T16:20:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T21:20:44","slug":"dc-police-charges-pro-life-chalking-sidewalk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/dc-police-charges-pro-life-chalking-sidewalk\/","title":{"rendered":"D.C. police drop charges against pro-lifers for chalking sidewalk in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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More than one year after their arrest<\/a>, D.C. police have dropped charges of defacing public property against two D.C. pro-life activists for chalking a public sidewalk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warner DePriest and Erica Caoraletti were arrested last year when, according to the <\/span>Washington Post<\/span><\/a>, the two were writing \u201cBlack Pre-born Lives Matter\u201d in chalk on the sidewalk outside of a Planned Parenthood during a pro-life rally organized by Students for Life of America (SFLA).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe case never should have been filed as there were no laws broken,\u201d said attorney Dennis Boyle, according to <\/span>SFLA<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a relief to finally have this matter closed,\u201d said Warner DePriest, one of the activists involved. \u201cAs a student of our political system, I believed then and I believe now that all Americans should have the right to speak up for the preborn and their mothers. Almost every week, I pray outside the Planned Parenthood where I was arrested for the hope that lives will be saved and because I can\u2019t be silent on the human rights atrocity of our day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Students for Life and Frederick Douglass Foundation sue D.C. mayor for discrimination<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the <\/span>Washington Times<\/span><\/a>, SFLA had a permit to hold a rally, and informed officials they would be painting a message as part of it. \u201cWe were told verbally that we would not be prevented from painting and what kind of paint to buy,\u201d said Kristi Hamrick, spokesperson for SFLA, in an email to the Washington Times. SFLA had also sent a letter to Mayor Bowser requesting permission to paint the slogan. \u201cHaving opened the streets of your city for public expression, Students for Life of America requests the opportunity to add our voices to those concerned about how people of color are treated in America,\u201d said an excerpt from the letter according to the Washington Post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, when the activists showed up, police claimed the group did not have a permit to paint the street and arrested DePriest and Caoraletti, even though they used chalk only, on a sidewalk\u00a0\u2014 not paint.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The fact that two of our students were arrested for chalking pro-life messages in Washington D.C. shows that government officials are practicing viewpoint discrimination and blocking our free speech rights.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll see you in court. pic.twitter.com\/Jb14oN6ik1<\/a><\/p>\n

— Students for Life of America (@StudentsforLife) August 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n