After the ACLJ announced its lawsuit earlier this month, the National Archives responded almost immediately with an apology: “As the home to the original Constitution and Bill of Rights, which enshrine the rights of free speech and religion, we sincerely apologize for this occurrence,” read the Feb. 10 statement.
In their press release today, the lawyers for the pro-life advocates said they weren’t satisfied with the museum’s apology.
“While the National Archives had previously issued an apology for the Jan. 20 incident, it had not provided any evidence of the existence of a policy or of sufficient training of its employees and officers with the apology sufficient to ensure that a repeat violation would not occur. As a result, the ACLJ’s clients remained fearful about returning to the building,” they said.
The law firm said that it then prepared a motion for a temporary restraining order against the museum. The prospect of that order, it said, paved the way to today’s agreement.
In a statement, the ACLJ noted that the signed agreement “is necessary here because two of our clients have plans to return to the National Archives soon — one as early as the end of this week — and we want to ensure that they are not targeted, humiliated, and silenced again during their visits.”
The two clients planning the visit were specifically named in the agreement and promised a tour of the museum along with a personal apology.
The following allegations are listed in the lawsuit against the National Archives:
A group of Catholic students and their chaperones were allegedly asked to remove or cover up all pro-life messages. This included pro-life hats that read “life always wins” and another that had the inscription “ProLife.” A security officer allegedly ordered one person to zip up her jacket to cover a pro-life shirt and told her she could not unzip the jacket until she left the National Archives. The security officer also allegedly told students to remove pro-life buttons on their clothing.
Another plaintiff, Wendilee Walpole Lassiter, a law school student at Liberty University, alleges that a security officer said she could not enter the building and was told “you have to take your shirt off [because] your shirt will incite others” and told her it would “cause a disturbance” and that she was “disturbing the peace.” She was wearing a sweatshirt that read “I am the post-Roe generation: law students for life,” according to the lawsuit. She complied with the order and alleged she saw people freely walking around the building with pro-abortion messages, such as “my body, my choice.”
A third plaintiff, Terrie Kallal, who entered the National Archives with her granddaughter, wore a T-shirt that read “March 4 Life 2014: Saint Cecilia’s Youth Group, Glen Carbon, IL” and her granddaughter wore a shirt that read “pro-life generation,” according to the lawsuit. She alleges that a security officer told her that the clothing was “offensive” and that “you must zip up your coats or take off your shirts.” They complied with the order.
This article was updated on Friday, Feb. 17, at 11:28 a.m. to reflect the fact that litigation in this case is still going forward.
Tyler Arnold is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency, based in EWTN News’ Washington Bureau. He previously worked at The Center Square and has been published in a variety of outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.