Metro’s board of directors is putting on hold a proposal to suspend riders from the transit system for getting arrested for certain sex and weapons crimes.

The idea was to stop repeat offenders who bring guns onto the Metro system or expose themselves to other riders on trains and buses. The proposal called for a two-week suspension for the first offense, a month-long suspension for second offenses, and up to a year for a third offense.

Several groups like the ACLU, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Black Lives Matter DC, and the Sunrise Movement pushed back against the idea. In a letter to the board in July, the groups called the policy a “blanket expansion of police power with no oversight,” and excoriated the proposal for moving to punish riders for crimes they hadn’t yet been convicted of. Metro says it would’ve used video evidence to verify the crime, and it also planned to have an appeal process.

The Black-led community defense organization Harriet’s Wildest Dreams organized against the ban for months, surveying community members and canvassing outside Metro stops in opposition. Earlier this month, the group hosted a rally outside on the Columbia Heights Civic Plaza demanding that the Metro board vote “no” on the measure.

“We did it! We stopped the WMATA ban, after months of organizing, community surveying, protests, testimonies, and letter writing, the WMATA board has decided to NOT EVEN CONSIDER VOTING ON THE PROPOSAL,” the group wrote on Instagram after the board’s decision. “Power concedes nothing without demand and that’s on period.”

More than 80 people also sent a template email saying they opposed the program, and several others weighed in against the idea during the public comment period. The Metro Rider Advisory Council also voted against it and board members tasked the RAC with coming up with ways to reduce crime from a rider perspective.

After delaying its vote following pushback, the board was set to formally vote on the ban in early September. Instead, the board had quietly avoided discussing the ban for its last two meetings.

On Thursday, Chairman of the Board Paul Smedberg said they will continue to monitor how similar programs work in other cities before re-scheduling a vote on the issue at a later date.

Matt Letourneau, a member from Virginia, says it’s an important issue to address.

“If people perceive that Metro is not safe to ride, they won’t ride. They’ll find other ways to get where they’re going,” he said. “I know that we had put some ideas on the table to address this and it received a lot of pushback.

“I thought it was disappointing, the lack of focus on the actual crimes that were being committed and the victims that we had.”

This story has been updated with additional information about the activism of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams in opposition to this Metro board proposal.