By Kate Wood, Fellow, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 10:25am
People who disagree with the president have as much a right to be heard as those who wish to praise him. Today at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, the ACLU will be defending the free speech rights of presidential protestors who were discriminated against solely for the messages on their signs.
By Donna Lieberman, New York Civil Liberties Union at 12:09pm
As the Occupy Wall Street movement gains steam, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is standing beside the demonstrators and defending their right to speak their minds.
Teams of NYCLU staff and volunteers regularly visit the movement's headquarters at Zuccotti Park to distribute our Know Your Rights information and engage the demonstrators' on their experiences with the NYPD. The park's makeshift library is well-stocked with our Demonstrating in New York City and What to Do if You're Stopped by the Police guides. We're engaging the protestors on Facebook and Twitter as well.
By Robyn Greene, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:46pm
The ACLU just scored a big win for freedom of speech from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). More than 2 years ago we filed a complaint with the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL) concerning an effort to collect and distribute information about lawful demonstrations. Earlier this month, we received a letter from OCRCL letting us know that they have resolved our complaint, and are adopting our recommendations!
Today, there are American citizens who are being assaulted by police during peaceful protests, but you likely have heard very little about it. The Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD), the second largest police department in the country, is out of control, with a broken and inadequate system for investigating, or even recording, acts of severe police brutality — including lethal force — perpetrated against the communities it is meant to protect. While all of this is occurring in the public eye, none of it is making headlines.
Today's New York Times reports the sky-high murder rate in Puerto Rico has put the territory's police department — the second largest in the nation behind New York — under pressure to ramp up training and instruction, as well as coordination with federal authorities.
Once again, it appears free speech may be the victim of official White House policy. In the rather un-grand tradition of shielding the president from dissenting opinions, several New Mexicans were recently made to stand 150 yards - and behind a blockade of police cars and horses - away from the presidential motorcade route while Bush supporters wielding a "God Bless George Bush! We Pray for You!" sign got right up close.
This manual encourages people on the ground at the site of a presidential appearance to "ask the local police department to designate a protest area where demonstrators can be placed, preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route" and suggests "rally squads" of supporters to "use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform."
Today the ACLU filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of six of the New Mexico protestors. The Constitution guarantees us all the right to express our views and protects us from being treated differently because of them. Policies - from the White House, local law enforcement agencies or otherwise - that dictate different treatment for different opinions is unconstitutional, and we hope this case proves so once and for all.
