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WASHINGTON (CN) — Animal rights group PETA sued the transit authority in the nation’s capital Thursday over its rejection of three ads soliciting donations for the group, arguing the decision was based on a “deeply held ideological bias” against it.
In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, PETA claims Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager Randy Clarke has instituted a “blanket ban” on any ads by the group, which violates its First and 14th Amendment rights.
“WMATA enforces this ban no matter how anodyne and compliant with WMATA policies PETA’s proposed ads may be,” the group said in the 30-page lawsuit. “Because of this animus, WMATA consistently rejects PETA’s ads, even though it runs similar ads from other advertisers. WMATA’s rejections of PETA’s ads violate WMATA’s own rules, which WMATA ignores when abiding by them would be inconvenient — or run afoul of WMATA leadership’s own apparent policy views.”
PETA submitted three ads to the transit authority’s ad manager, Outfront Media Inc. — which manages submissions and signs contracts detailing an advertisement’s design, while WMATA ultimately makes compliance decisions — between June and October 2025, each of which was denied.
One ad depicts a cat, pig, dog and chicken with the text “Help Us Help Them” and “Donate to PETA” with a QR code below. The second shows a pig with the text “Free Vegan Starter Kit” and “Join today: become a PETA member” with a QR code. The third includes a crowd of pigs on a city street, apparently marching behind a red flag stating “Pigs can’t fight for pigs’ rights,” with the text “That’s why we’re here. Please donate to PETA” and a QR code below.
According to PETA, the two advertising guidelines at issue in the case are: Guideline 9, which prohibits ads “intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions,” and Guideline 14, which prohibits ads “intended to influence public policy.”
The animal rights group is requesting a federal judge declare its rejections unlawful and enjoin enforcement of the guidelines.
“Washington’s transit authority seems hell-bent on keeping PETA ads out of its metro system, even if it has to violate the law to do it,” Asher Smith, PETA’s general counsel, said in a statement. “PETA looks forward to establishing that WMATA’s rejection was unconstitutional and that PETA has the right to seek donations to support its mission of animal liberation.”
On Nov. 1, 2024, the transit authority implemented “Interpretive Aids” meant to help its advertisement review panel apply the guidelines and specifically noted that Guideline 9 does not prohibit ads soliciting donations and Guideline 14 only excludes ads addressed to public officials or aims to pressure them.
“Despite implementing the Interpretive Aids, WMATA does not abide by the terms of the Interpretive Aids, therefore reserving to itself unbridled discretion under the guidelines,” the animal rights group said. “That unguided discretion authorizes and encourages discriminatory enforcement against what defendant or WMATA considers controversial or unpopular viewpoints, and has resulted in discriminatory enforcement against such viewpoints.”
The aids were implemented in the wake of a federal judge ruling the transit authority had violated Christian nonprofit WallBuilders’ First Amendment rights by inconsistently applying Guideline 9.
WallBuilders sought to place two advertisements throughout the transit system: Henry Brueckner’s painting of George Washington kneeling to pray in Valley Forge and Howard Chandler Christy’s painting of the Founders signing the Constitution at Independence Hall. Text superimposed over either image read, “Christian? To find out about the faith of our Founders, go to wallbuilders.com."
They included an Instacart ad promoting the Plan B contraceptive pill, a public service ad from D.C. Health promoting Covid-19 vaccines and a Power to the Patients ad advocating for lower and more transparent hospital pricing.
In its lawsuit, PETA also cites 14 different ad campaigns it asserts are examples of the transit authority’s continued inconsistency in applying its guidelines.
Its examples for campaigns that would otherwise be blocked by Guideline 9 include: a Salvation Army ad promoting a $25 per month membership, a Live Nation ad for its charitable fund, ads promoting last summer’s World Pride event in Washington and ads promoting a vegan diet.
PETA also included examples of campaigns that would be blocked under Guideline 14: TikTok ads expressing support for veteran-focused charities, NextEra Energy ads aligning itself with President Donald Trump’s energy goals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recruitment ads and Anduril ads calling for increased defense spending.
WMATA did not respond to a request for comment.
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