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TechnoratiACLU of Colorado Sues to Ensure DNC Protesters' Rights
If you're planning on going to protest at the Democratic National Convention in Denver August 25-28, they're not making it easy on you.
Neither the city nor the Secret Service has yet let the public know about when and where they can protest.
It should be considered an abomination even to have to ask, under our Constitution, to exercise our First Amendment rights.
But after what happened four years ago at the Democratic Convention in Boston or at the Republican Convention in New York or at the FTAA protests in Miami, the ability to speak, assemble, and petition our government for redress of grievances has become very circumscribed.
Many protest groups are willing to jump through the bureaucratic hoops, but in Denver, they don't even know how narrow those hoops are going to be.
"Denver has refused to process any applications for parade permits during the DNC, and it has refused to disclose any information about the 'demonstration zone' that it plans to set up," explained Steven D. Zansberg, an ACLU cooperating attorney. "Denver says it is waiting for the Secret Service to decide the outer boundaries of the security perimeter, and the Secret Service says it may not decide until July. If the plaintiffs are forced to wait for these government agencies to act, there will be not be enough time for a court to review unreasonable restrictions on First Amendment activity."
Plaintiffs include the ACLU, American Friends Service Committee, American Indian Movement of Colorado, Americans for Safe Access, CODEPINK, Escuela Tlatelolco, Troops Out Now Coalition, Recreate 68, Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, Citizens for Obama, Tent State University, and United for Peace and Justice.
"Less than 120 days before" the Democratic National Convention, "the plaintiffs are unable to organize and plan their free speech and assembly activities," the lawsuit alleges. "Despite numerous requests and urgings from the plaintiffs over the past several months, the City and County of Denver has refused even to begin the process of issuing permits needed to conduct 'parades' (political protest marches) along the public thoroughfares that from time immemorial have been reserved for such expressive use by the People."
Stalling by the city and the Secret Service is "making it impossible for Plaintiffs to organize rallies, protests, and other demonstrations," thus infringing on their constitutional rights, the suit says.
The protest groups are urging the court "to order the Secret Service to share with the city the information the city says it needs in order to process the Plaintiff's pending requests for parade permits."
All of the plaintiffs are nonviolent. One plaintiff, "Citizens for Obama," is a group set up by a Vermont citizen named Damian Sedney. He's been trying to get a permit for a pro-Obama march and rally at the convention. And even he has been stymied.
The ACLU of Colorado has been in discussion with the City of Denver, and in particular Deputy Police Chief Michael Battista, since May 23, 2007, about the upcoming protests. The group held four meetings with Battista or other city officials last year about this, and has had several other communications this year. Battista told the ACLU of Colorado that the Secret Service would have a "hard-security perimeter" around the Pepsi Center, where the convention is being held. Battista said there would be "free speech zone" or "demonstration zone" outside the Secret Service's perimeter.
But these zones have yet to be announced, and anyway, not all the plaintiffs are willing to be penned in like that.
"For certain plaintiff organizations," the suit says, "the prospect of being caged behind wires and fencing, with battalions of riot-clad law enforcement flanked around them, is anathema. In the eyes of these organizations, such militarism and forced confinement in the face of peaceful, humble petitioning is wholly inappropriate, and they refuse to enter such a 'demonstration zone.' Instead, these organizations intend to exercise their constitutional right of peaceful assembly and speech on the public forum spaces, such as sidewalks, walkways, and the like, as close as possible to the Convention. For these plaintiff organizations, therefore, it is imperative that the city not unconstitutionally close off access."
The Secret Service did not return a call for comment.
Denver City Attorney David Fine gave the following statement:
"No one has been denied a parade permit. No one has been denied the right to protest. In fact you will see a vigorous exercise of free speech during the convention - in many ways and in many places. That being said, we will review the plaintiff's papers and respond as necessary."
Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine.
© 2008 The Progressive
10 Comments so far
Show AllAs far as I know this is not a disruption, but an exercise in democracy, most of the folks in Denver are heading to The Republican Convention also in order to hold our government accountable for their actions not just one party. Also, Hubert Humphrey would not come out against the war and there was a back room deal to sink the anti-war candidate. That is why the party split and Nixon won. 40 years later and we are still blaming the violence in Chicago on the protesters even though there was a commission report ordered by Nixon that stated it was a "police riot". I have attended a few of the Recreate 68 folks meetings and they are seriously commited to non-violence and remind everyone at the beginning of each meeting that we need to approach the convention in that manner. The only violent people in Denver will be the police. This smells like one big scare tactic to convince people to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. Some of us are tired of voting for an evil period. We would like to force the Dems to be responsible and having a peaceful presence in the streets is one tactic to do just that.
Plus this group has moved beyond protest and they are planning on running a free health clinic for the poor, they are planning 5,000 breakfast and 5,000 dinners in order to feed the homeless which the City of Denver has admitted they will be rounding up and putting them in emergency shelters during the convention, they are running a free law collective to train people of color and oppressed communities their rights and how to deal with police brutality, a festival of music and political trainings teaching people how to solve problems in their communities without the help of the politicians. They are also having some great national and local music acts also (rumor has it that one of the groups might be Rage Against the Machine). This does not sound like a bad thing, but an empowering and uplifting event. We should embrace this type of effort instead of trying to find away to tear it up. We on the left tend to kill each other and it needs to stop. The fighting is what the two party system wants so we don't realize there is another way.
I'm suspicious of anyone urging us to go disrupt the DEM convention. Don't y'all recall the '68 Chicago convention? The Democrats suffered a nearly mortal blow politically because of the Chicago riots. By contrast, the nice, sedate Nixon convention "reassured" people that civilization and goodness would prevail if only we "came to our senses" and stuck with the Republicans. I'm sure the Republicans relish the thought of a chaotic-appearing, blood in the streets Democratic convention while you can be sure that with fascist efficiency they'll make damned sure the St Paul convention looks nice and organized.
Don't be naive. Just because the Dems have been spineless doesn't mean we should play into the Republican fascist hands.
"Wasting your time" would be going to the republican convention to protest expecting them to hear you and actually change their position. Sure they are bad, but the Dems have controlled the Congress and continue to vote for funding of this illegal war, so they don't lose the middle ground vote. People are losing their lives in this war everyday and they are concerned about looking good to voters. If we protest the Dems, they might actually realize that our votes are not for granted any more and listen. Obama and Hillary both claim to be opposed to this war. If that is true, they should join and lead the historic anti-war march that is going to take place in Denver the day before the convention, instead not having their party trying to cage these people. It is disgusting to hear Dem pundints like Mike Malloy try to paint these well intentioned progressives as Rush Limbaugh or Government provocatuers. All it would have taken him was a few minutes to look at the over Forty groups who are working together or to just google some of the names of the folks on the ground in Denver to realize how misguided and wrong he is.
The problem is, is that the Dems want you to believe in some crazy right-wing government funded conspiracy as to why they are being protested so you do not focus on the fact that they do nothing to stop this country from being run by corporation and its continued move to the right. Ask yourselves, how many Dem Politicians voted against the war, how many voted against the US PATRIOT act, how many voted to build a wall on the border. No conspiracy here, just look at the Dems actions. Sorry, but I am using my time and resources on the real possibilty of change, so I will see you in Denver!!!
Don't waste your time or effort going to Denver. I'm going to raise as much hell as I can in St Paul - and I suggest we CommonDreamers all go there en masse to spoil the perverts' Party!
I am sure that when the clamp-down comes, Democratic Party representatives will say nothing or act shocked. However, these preparations, so familiar from when Bush comes to speak anywhere, are being done on behalf of the "big tent" Democratic Party.
It's kind of discusting to hear people on Common Dreams discussing their hopeful attitudes toward the Dems in the upcoming Presidential campaign when you see how the machine works. It'll be another closed-debate prescripted convention, "defended" by riot gear-clad police.
Sure, elect a Dem. See how open to discussion they'll be later. That argument is getting kind of old by now.
The Dim's are apparently terrified of the people, and they should be. Democratic corruption is leading to chaos. It is only at the point of chaos that their attitudes will shift. Always know that your positive efforts will survive the chaos and lead us out of it. The Dim's and Repug's will lead only to destruction We are at a critical decision point. I recommend voting Green because the Green Party platform is consistent with positive transforming beliefs. When the chaos strikes we do not want to be strapped with Dim or Repug wrongheaded leadership.
The ACLU has refused so far to bring any legal action against the free speech zones now put in place for the Democratic Party state convention coming up this month in Colorado Springs.
The police actually held a meeting where they pretty much said they would immediately arrest any protester that was outside the 'zone' they were setting up to contain us in. Further, they even said that they would consider separating the protesters from each other in the tiny little area, if some were Leftist and liberal, and others were Republicans. All this, they justified by saying they were only doing it to ensure our safety!
The ACLU in Denver is way ahead of their local yokels in Colorado Springs, at least.
Actually I would rather see them go to St. Paul and disrupt the Republican convention--moreso than the sniveling and complicit Democratic Party, the Republicans are responsible for the mess this country is presently experiencing at home and abroad.
Thanks to the ACLU for pressing the question, but, in the end, they will settle for strict permitting and some sort of "free speech zones" (yellow-taped like crime scenes instead of using aesthetically-displeasing barbed-wire?).
If we are truly about free speech and the highjacking of democracy by the DLC and the corporations that will be running the Dem Convention, we will have to take our case to the streets, with or w/o permits: that is where the fights for free speech and true public space will be fought. See you in Denver.
Free speech zones seem akin to the Iron Curtain and radio free Europe – It can't happen here? It is happening here.