The antiwar group ANSWER Coalition made good on its promise to fight an order from the city to remove its posters from electrical boxes all over D.C. by filing court papers yesterday challenging local laws that regulate the posting of signs in public places.

As you’ll recall, ANSWER, a group that stages regular anti-war protests in Washington, received 65 citations on Aug. 13 for gluing signs onto utility boxes around the city, each with a $150 ticket attached. The group was given 72 hours to remove the signs or pay the fines, adding up to roughly $10,000. ANSWER refused to remove their signs, claiming the fines were politically motivated and that the paste they used to post the signs was legal and water soluble.

In court filings yesterday, the coalition alleges D.C. gives preferential treatment to signs for political candidates, commercial businesses and crime prevention, while targeting grassroots campaigns. They are asking a federal judge to force the city to create a “constitutionally allowable and non-discriminating system” for determining the rules on sign posting before they are allowed to enforce the penalties levied against ANSWER and similar groups.

Photo by Sommer Mathis