ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia Ku Klux Klan group says it will move forward with its application for a highway cleanup program after a judge ruled that the state's denial violated the organization's right to free speech.

The north Georgia KKK group's application was denied in 2012. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation sued on the group's behalf and, this November, a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled in the organization's favor. The judge says the state's denial violated the group's First Amendment right to free speech.

But the state has appealed. The Department of Transportation says any action on the application is on hold pending the appeal's outcome. State lawyers argue that the sovereign immunity principle bars action against the state.

The KKK group's lawyer says it will fight the appeal.