The Washington Metro Authority (WMATA) has been sued by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) over the rejection of three proposed advertisements that the animal rights organization claims were in compliance with WMATA's policies .

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PETA's lawsuit objects to WMATA's decision last year to bar three of PETA's proposed advertisements from the D.C. metro becasue they violated the agency's rule prohibiting advertisements intended to influence members of the public regarding an issue on which there are varying opinions.

PETA argued that the transportation agency and General Manager Randy Clarke are violating the nonprofit group's First Amendment rights by preventing them from placing their advertisements.

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PETA, under the leadership of Defendant Randy Clarke, appears to have instituted a blanket ban on any ads from PETA. WMATA enforces this ban no matter how anodyne and compliant with WMATA policies PETA's proposed ads may be.

The three advertisements the animal rights organization proposed last year each depicted images of animals with captions and QR codes to donate to the organization.

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PETA said it dropped its 2017 lawsuit against the Washington Metro in 2025 after the agency provided more criteria for what qualifies for its advertisements , though this week's lawsuit argues that its rejection of the three ads flies in the face of this clarified crieria.

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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,PETA's General Counsel Asher Smith said in a statement.

PETA's proposed ads included an image of a cat, pig, dog, and chicken grouped together, reading Support us help them. Donate to PETA.

The second included an image of a pig and a vegan starter kit, with text reading Free Vegan Starter Kit.Join Today: Become a PETA member.

The last ad included an image of a mass group of pigs holding a flag that reads Pigs can't clash for pigs rights with a caption that says That's why we're here. please donate to PETA.