SEATTLE, Wash. – Graffiti can be considered a form of protected speech under a ruling by a federal judge in Seattle.

The Seattle Times reports the U.S. District Judge on Tuesday, June 13th, ordered the city to stop making arrests under its property destruction law.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by four people who were arrested in 2021 for writing anti-police slogans in chalk outside a police precinct.

The judge said that criminalizing free speech harms the public to a much greater degree than criminalizing property damage.

Her original injunction halted all arrests under the ordinance, including for smashing windows or slashing tires.

But she amended that on Thursday, June 15th, to only include the graffiti section.

Police say they are working with city attorneys to plan how to move forward.