All tickets given to participants in the Black Lives Matter protests organized by ARCY over the summer have been dismissed by Washtenaw County District Judge Anna Frushour.

According to Chelsea law, events that impede traffic must either receive a permit or be organized by a charity event. Those who received tickets argued that it was a violation of the First Amendment to regulate some speech but not others, making it a content-based regulation.

“It would not make sense that the same person could be impeding traffic while protesting but not when asking for a donation,” Judge Frushour said during the proceedings. “Soliciting for charity or civic donation does not provide a cloak of protection against getting hit by a car or impeding traffic, yet this type of speech is exempt.”

Frushour called this an “absurd result” of the wording of the law, and deemed this exemption unconstitutional. Because of this, all those ticketed will not be penalized.

Bleu Print will continue to cover this story as more information is available. View the full trial here (1:45:00-1:59:00).