San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency, Muni, has been under fire for accepting ads referring to Arabs and Muslims as “savage” that were placed by anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller. The ads declare that “in any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man”—a paraphrase of an Ayn Rand quote—while also urging readers to “support Israel” and “defeat jihad.” If Muni had rejected the ads, however, it likely would have violated Geller’s First Amendment rights; when New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority tried to block Geller’s ads last year, Geller sued, and in July a judge later declared the agency’s ad policy unconstitutional.
Though Muni may have to run the ads, it has taken the unusual step of posting its own ads denouncing Geller’s campaign, ABC’s San Francisco affiliate reports.
MORE: SF Public Transit Runs Ads Denouncing Anti-Muslim Blogger’s Ad Campaign | Mother Jones.