PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A federal judge in Providence ruled Friday that the National Endowment for the Arts under the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by withholding grants to applicants deemed to promote "gender ideology," ruling its policy was viewpoint discrimination.

In a 45-page decision, U.S. District Senior Judge William Smith found that the NEA's policy, implemented in response to an executive order issued by President Trump, discriminated against artists' free speech rights.

The ruling comes after a lawsuit filed in March by Rhode Island Latino Arts, National Queer Theater, The Theater Offensive, and Theatre Communications Group, which challenged the NEA's plan.

Smith wrote that while the chairperson of the NEA has the final say on who gets grant money, they

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