Washington Bans Political Ads From Public Transit

Officials in Washington (DC) said that they had suspended all issue-oriented advertising in the public transit system because of fears that granting a request to display a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad would make the region’s buses and trains “a target.”

The ban, which will remain in effect through the end of the year, came a month after New York officials put a similar prohibition in place. Both transit systems acted after ads were submitted by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, a pro-Israel group that has placed provocative ads critical of Islam on buses and trains across the country. The ad that the group sought to display in Washington featured a cartoon originally drawn for a contest in Garland (TX) where two gunmen were shot and killed after opening fire on the police. The image shows a cartoonist drawing a sword-brandishing Muhammad who says, “You can’t draw me!” “That’s why I draw you,” the cartoonist responds. The words “support free speech” are written in red block letters at the top of the ad.