A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Washington illegally discriminated against a group of anti-abortion protesters who were denied permission by the district to write messages in chalk opposing abortion on sidewalks.

In a 3-0 ruling, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the district had selectively enforced its ban on "defacement" when it barred anti-abortion protesters from Students for Life and the Frederick Douglass Foundation from writing chalk messages on city sidewalks. The city had approved sidewalk messages by Black Lives Matter protesters.

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The plaintiffs alleged the district had forcibly enforced the law against them but failed to do so against Black Lives Matter protesters during the summer of 2020.

"During the summer of 2020, the District arrested individuals chalking 'Black Pre-Born Lives Matter' on the sidewalk, while making no arrests against the many individuals marking 'Black Lives Matter' on sidewalks, streets, and other property," Judge Neomi Rao wrote in the majority opinion. "The Foundation has plausibly alleged that its members were similarly situated to individuals against whom the defacement ordinance was not enforced, and that the District discriminated on the basis of viewpoint when enforcing the ordinance."

The case was argued last year by Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Erin Hawley, the wife of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).

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“Washington officials can’t censor messages they disagree with," Erin Hawley said in a Tuesday statement to the Washington Examiner. "The right to free speech is for everyone, and we’re pleased the D.C. Circuit agreed that the Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life should be able to exercise their constitutionally protected freedom to peacefully share their views the same as anyone else. Every American deserves for their voice to be heard as they engage in important cultural and political issues of the day.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Washington attorney general's office for comment.