The contrast in how protesters were treated were raised by a few commentators and sites in prior years. In the summer of 2020, the city allowed thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters to take over streets in D.C. without any permit. The police watched as protesters wrote slogans and slurs on stores, streets, and sidewalks with paint and chalk. No one was arrested.

However, later two pro-life advocates in a protest in front of a D.C. Planned Parenthood facility were immediately arrested when they chalked “Black Pre-Born Lives Matter” on a public sidewalk.

Chief Judge Boasberg previously held that they had no right to challenge the selective enforcement of the laws. They simply had to plead guilty and accept that their views were not given the same official tolerance.

Judge Rao reversed the trial court and said this is precisely what the First Amendment is meant to prevent.

[It’s a major First Amendment win, and notable for that. But it’s also a shot across the bow at politicized prosecutors and law-enforcement agencies. Courts normally take a dim view of selective-prosecution complaints, but this shows that courts are starting to take notice of viewpoint-based “prosecutorial discretion” now too. That may be a bad sign for Soros-backed DAs. — Ed]