The Smithsonian Institution and the National Archives are apologizing for their security guards’ behavior after four tourists from Virginia and Michigan filed a lawsuit alleging that they were told to remove or hide clothing with anti-abortion messages in order to enter.
In a federal complaint filed Wednesday, two women, as well as a mother and her 17-year-old daughter attended the March for Life rally on the National Mall on Jan. 20. They allege when visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the National Archives and Records Administration, security guards asked them to remove clothing including their blue hats that read “Rosary Pro-Life” and cover a shirt that said, “Life is a Human right.”
The individuals, who did not know each other before the event, allege that the requests violated their civil rights under the first and fifth amendments.
The suit also lists the National Archives Museum, national archivist Debra Steidel Wall and the guards.
In the suit, the plaintiffs detail their interactions with the guards, including alleging that one guard said, “Y’all are about to make my day,” and, “You’ve been told multiple times to take your hats off, and you have not taken them off. You need to take them off or leave.”
That guard allegedly also told them the First Amendment “does not apply here.”
A guard told the 15 Catholic school classmates of the teen filing suit, referenced as L.R., to take off buttons and hats with similar messages, including “Life always Wins,” the complaint said.
“Plaintiff L.R. communicated to a friend via Snapchat while still inside the National Archives, ‘he told me to take off my pro-life pin as I was standing next to the constitution that literally says Freedom of Speech on it,'” the complaint states.
Both the National Archives and the Smithsonian have issued apologies but say they cannot comment on the litigation.
“A security officer mistakenly told young visitors that their pro-life hats were not permitted in the museum. Asking visitors to remove hats and clothing is not in keeping with our policy or protocols. We provided immediate retraining to prevent a re-occurrence of this kind of error. The Smithsonian welcomes all visitors without regard to their beliefs,” said Smithsonian Institution spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas. “We do not deny access to our museums based on the messages on visitors’ clothing.”
The National Archives responded in a statement, “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.”
It notes the policy allows visitors to wear clothes that display protest language, including political and religious speech.
“Early indications are that our security officers quickly corrected their actions and, from that point forward, all visitors were permitted to enter our facility without needing to remove or cover their attire. We have reminded all of our security officers at our facilities across the country of the rights of visitors in this regard,” the Archives statement said.
