This article originally appeared on WND.com
Guest by post by Bob Unruh
It’s a victory for students who were ejected by the National Archives and Records Administration from a Washington, D.C., museum for wearing T-shirts with pro-life messages.
A report from the American Center for Law and Justice confirms the organization was assured such a situation would not be allowed to develop again.
The ACLJ reported, “As we told you, at the start of mediation, our clients’ objective was to find out who was responsible for the targeting, how and why it happened, and to ensure that something like this does not happen again. We have achieved just that.”
It continued, “In documents filed yesterday with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the National Archives’ Chief of Management outlined the investigation conducted into the targeting of our clients following the events on January 20, 2023. The NARA official’s affidavit provided details about who was responsible for the targeting (a security guard hired by NARA and employed by Allied Universal) and outlined steps taken by NARA officials to ensure this doesn’t happen again and additional training provided to security officers.”
The ACLJ reported further that, “the official investigation into the targeting is detailed in a report released by NARA and conducted by security for NARA, Allied Universal. Much of the ‘who,’ ‘what,’ and ‘how’ is documented by Allied in this report.”
It was last winter as the annual March for Life was going on that students were trying to visit some of Washington’s museums.
“Several government institutions targeted pro-lifers, kicking them out or forcing them to remove or cover up pro-life attire in violation of their First Amendment free speech rights,” the ACLJ reported.
The organization had sued the NARA “for targeting pro-life visitors,” and the federal agency immediately agreed to an injunction halt the harassment.
It also sought mediation.
The ACLJ pointedly noted, “Ironically, the National Archives is the home of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, commonly referred to as the ‘Charters of Freedom.’ On January 20, 2023, our clients – a grandmother, a law student, and a high school student at a Catholic school – all visited the National Archives at different times that day to view these documents. To our clients’ horror, each was told by armed guards to take off their religious, pro-life apparel or leave the museum.”
The security officer stunningly claimed the apparel would “incite others.”
The report said, “The National Archives will also pay each of our clients a monetary sum in acknowledgment of the violation of plaintiffs’ rights and the harm caused to them. Our clients will also be granted special access to security video of the events that transpired at the National Archives on the day in question to confirm for themselves certain representations that have been made by NARA officials.”
And, the NARA “has entered into a Consent Order and is ‘ENJOINED’ from prohibiting visiting members of the public to NARA facilities from wearing attire containing religious and political speech.”
Copyright 2023 WND News Center
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