The payment agreement dated Nov. 19 comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June 2023 in favor of Lorie Smith, who said Colorado's law requiring her to create websites to celebrate same-sex weddings infringed on her constitutional rights.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority that Colorado tried to compel "an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance."

"The First Amendment's protections … belong to all, including to speakers whose motives others may find misinformed or offensive," he wrote.

Smith complained she was being singled out by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission because her religious faith does not support nontraditional marriage. Smith said she won't promote messages that condone violence or encourage sexual immorality, abortion, or same-sex marriage.

Smith took legal action when she discovered she was forbidden under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act to post a statement online explaining what content she was, and was not, willing to create.

After the Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, the case found its way back to the federal district court in Colorado.

On Nov. 19, Smith and the state filed a notice of settlement in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis with the district court.

The notice did not specify how much the state agreed to pay Smith, but the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represents Smith, said the amount was more than $1.5 million to cover attorneys' fees.

"The government can't force Americans to say things they don't believe, and Colorado officials have paid and will continue to pay a high price when they violate this foundational freedom," ADF CEO and President Kristen Waggoner said in a statement.