In 2020, a California city celebrated activists who coated the sidewalks with chalk drawings and slogans.
In 2023, a California city is trying to imprison an activist who chalked a few simple words onto a sidewalk.
Pro-abortion officials are unfairly punishing pro-life speech. But Life Legal is standing up to stop it.
This Friday, Life Legal Senior Staff Attorney Allison Aranda is appearing in court to argue that Craig Walterscheid should not be forced to pay damages for “chalking.” Craig, a pro-life activist, used washable spray chalk to write “Abortion is Murder” and “2363.org” on the public sidewalk outside the abortion mill.
2363.org is a campaign to raise awareness about the number of babies killed daily through abortion.
Originally, the city brought charges of felony vandalism—all for a few washable marks on a public sidewalk!! Life Legal got the charges down to misdemeanors, but the city is still demanding thousands of dollars in restitution.
Attorney Aranda wanted to check this out, so she sprayed the same type of sidewalk chalk Craig used on the sidewalk outside her home. It rained slightly that evening. By morning, the chalk was gone. No pressure washer needed. A light spray from a garden hose would have done the trick.
Yet the city wants Craig to pay thousands of dollars in restitution—because they didn’t like his message.
Climate-change activists routinely slather spray chalk on sidewalks and walls, without facing any charges at all. When anti-police activists chalked vulgar sayings on Las Vegas sidewalks, a federal court ruled that activists who were arrested could actually sue the police!
Craig and other pro-life activists face discriminatory treatment. While other groups get lauded and protected for using spray chalk, Craig is facing huge fines.
On Friday, Attorney Aranda will be standing up for Craig’s right to free speech—and for the rights of all pro-life advocates to be free from discriminatory treatment.