Washington (CNN) A Washington, DC-based craft brewery sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over the ongoing shutdown it says is threatening to prevent it from selling a new beer.

The lawsuit from Atlas Brew Works claims the administration is harming its free speech rights by requiring compliance with a federal law administered by an agency whose operations are not funded through the shutdown.

"We are asking the court to allow us to speak to our customers during this shutdown by permitting Atlas to sell our beer to out of state consumers," Justin Cox, founder and CEO of Atlas, told CNN via email.

Federal law requires the brewery to have "certificates of label approval" for beer to be sold across state lines, Atlas says in its court filing. However, Atlas has been unable to get such approval for some of its seasonal "apricot-infused" IPA called "The Precious One," because the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has not been processing applications through the shutdown.

"The right to free speech is not a favor that the government affords Americans when political circumstances allow," the complaint said.

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