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ACLU Sues D.C. Transit System for Removing Milo Yiannopoulos Ads

Suit says officials violated Yiannopoulos’ First Amendment rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a free-speech lawsuit on behalf of far-right-wing provocateur and author Milo Yiannopoulos, claiming the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority violated his First Amendment rights when it removed advertisements for the former Breitbart news editor’s book. “It is important to defend speech we hate, because that means the First Amendment tide rises for all of us,” said Lee Rowland, an attorney at the ACLU’s national branch. “When we give government the power to regulate speakers based on their identity or their perceived level of offense, it reduces speech for all of us.” Meanwhile, Yiannopoulos issued a statement saying he was “glad that the ACLU has decided to tackle a real civil-rights issue.”