Police lifted a ban on Christmas caroling after ordering a group of pro-life activists to stop singing “Silent Night” and other carols on a sidewalk outside an abortion clinic.

The carolers planned to head back to the clinic before Christmas Eve, relieved they each no longer face a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

“No one should try to shut down Christmas carols on a public sidewalk, and we’re pleased that that city has changed its tune and says it won’t do that again,” Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said.

Two police officers were captured on video Saturday politely telling carolers they were violating a city noise ordinance by singing “Silent Night” on a sidewalk outside an abortion clinic in Falls Church, Va.

“The Falls Church Police Department decided last Saturday that their city noise ordinance can be interpreted to stop people from singing just because abortion clinics’ workers don’t like it,” Bowman told The Daily Signal.

Falls Church police said a business called around 10:45 a.m. Saturday to report that a sidewalk was being blocked by protesters.

“Officers responded and asked the 25-30 people to move from the sidewalk; they complied,”  police said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal.

Bowman and his legal team saw an issue.

“So, at Alliance Defending Freedom we had to send them a letter saying the First Amendment does not allow you to ban Christmas carols from the public sidewalk, or to let abortion workers decide that other people’s free speech is annoying,” Bowman said.

Falls Church Police Chief Mary Gavin gave Bowman a call a few hours after Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter Monday urging police to lift the ban.

The police force decided to allow Christmas caroling outside the abortion business on South Washington Street.

“While there the officers explained that the city’s noise ordinance included singing; but without amplified sound or disrupting neighbors or businesses, singing is not considered a violation,” police said in a statement, adding: “We will continue to support and defend peaceful protest in the city and respect their First Amendment rights.”

Falls Church police spokeswoman Susan Finarelli said in an email to The Daily Signal that the group of carolers had “graciously” moved away when the officers asked.

“Groups have congregated at this building for years, and the police have always had a good, respectful relationship with them,” Finarelli said. “We certainly want that to continue.”

Bowman blamed the flap on the combination of a “vague and overbroad” law and police “wanting to make their job easier at that moment by just silencing the speakers.”

“So if an abortion [provider] is complaining,” he told The Daily Signal, “the easiest thing to do is get the pro-life people to shut up. A lot of pro-life people are willing to do what the police tell them.”

Bowman added:

The more fundamental reason is that Falls Church city has this ordinance that is massively overbroad. It gives discretion to the city to decide if something is annoying and therefore an officer can ban it if he wants to. That’s the problem with vague and overbroad laws against speech, is that they can be used in a discriminatory manner to suppress the speech of people who are not popular or do not have the political influence that the abortion industry pays for.

The Christmas caroler who videotaped the incident, Mary Flores, asked the responding officers to clarify why the singers had to stop.

“It says here … that there’s no singing allowed?” Flores asks in the video.

“Yes, ma’am,”  an officer responds.

“Isn’t this public property?” Flores’ daughter asks.

“Unfortunately,” the officer says,  “it’s a noise ordinance violation, on public or private property.”

Officers relied on a provision in the noise ordinance reading:

(15) Yelling, shouting, etc. It shall be unlawful for any person to yell, shout, talk loudly, whistle or sing on any public street or private property in the city at anytime, so as to cause a noise disturbance. This section shall not apply to any person who is participating in a duly permitted or licensed event or who has been duly authorized to engage in such conduct.

The penalty upon conviction:  up to 12 months in jail or a fine of up to $2,500, or both. Carolers said they stopped singing out of fear of being fined or jailed.

The pro-life activists planned to be back on the sidewalk singing Christmas carols at noon Wednesday.

“The police will respect their right to do that,” Bowman said.

Copyright 2015 The Daily Signal