Home : Free Speech : Right to Protest

Protest and the President
For years, the ACLU has fought the White House policy of shielding the president from dissent. The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, but that right is undermined if protesters can't be heard. More >>
> WV: ACLU Calls Government Settlement in Anti-Bush T-Shirt Case a Victory for Free Speech
> CO: White House Staffers Sued for Ejecting Denver Residents from Bush Event
> NM: Protestors Should be Seen and Heard

Defense Department Shuts Down Pentagon Database on Peaceful Groups
The ACLU applauded the decision of the U.S. Department of Defense to shut down its Threat and Local Observation Notices (TALON) anti-terrorism database. The DoD program, which began in 2003 to house intelligence reports about possible threats to military bases in the U.S., strayed from its intended mission and expanded the database to include reports by local law enforcement agencies and military security personnel about nonviolent demonstrations and anti-war rallies. More >>
> Read the Report: No Real Threat: The Pentagon's Secret Database on Peaceful Protest
> Learn more about the ACLU's efforts to fight government spying

ACLU client Jeff Rank talks about his right to protest case, Rank v. Jenkins

"Congress shall make no law respecting…the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

ACLU and Amnesty International Settle Lawsuit Stemming From 2003 FTAA Protests (07/01/2009)
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Amnesty International USA today announced that they have entered into a settlement agreement with Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami and individual defendants, effectively ending the lawsuit filed on behalf of Amnesty International by the ACLU in 2006.

ACLU Challenges Defense Department Personnel Policy To Regard Lawful Protests As “Low-Level Terrorism” (06/10/2009)
Anti-terrorism training materials currently being used by the Department of Defense (DoD) teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests should be regarded as “low level terrorism.” ACLU attorneys are calling the approach “an egregious insult to constitutional values” and have sent a letter to the Department of Defense demanding that the offending materials be changed and that the DoD send corrective information to all DoD employees who received the erroneous training.

Business Owner's Mural and First Amendment Display Targeted by City of Clearwater (02/24/2009)
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and its Pinellas County Chapter filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of local business owners Heriberto and Lorraine Quintero, whose First Amendment rights have repeatedly been trampled on by the City of Clearwater. The ACLU of Florida seeks to prevent the city from further proceeding against the Quinteros for exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech and political protest.

Federal Court Upholds Exclusion Of Denver Residents From Bush Speech Based On Political Expression (11/07/2008)
DENVER – In a blow to free speech, a federal district court judge found that no constitutional rights were violated when Leslie Weise and Alex Young were ejected from one of President Bush's speeches in Denver in March 2005. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado, charged that Weise and Young, two of the so-called "Denver 3," were ejected simply because they arrived at the event in a car with the bumper sticker reading "No More Blood For Oil."

New FBI Guidelines Open Door to Further Abuse (09/12/2008)
Washington, DC - Following a briefing today at the Department of Justice (DOJ), the American Civil Liberties Union reiterated its deep concern over new guidelines that would govern FBI investigations. The new guidelines would lower standards for beginning "assessments" (precursors to investigations), conducting surveillance and gathering evidence, and would replace existing guidelines for five types of existing guidelines: general criminal, national security, foreign intelligence, civil disorders and demonstrations.

NYCLU Report: Arresting Protest (04/28/2003)

Weise v. Casper - 10th Circuit Brief for Appellees (04/28/2009)

New Mexico Protest - Complaint (01/15/2008)

Rank v. Jenkins - Joint Stipulation of Dismissal with Predjudice (08/15/2007)

Rank v. Jenkins - Complaint (06/28/2007)

Weise v. Jenkins - Complaint (03/15/2007)

ACLU Letter to the Department of Defense Regarding Its Level 1 Anti-terrorism Training Materials (06/10/2009)

ACLU Letter to Congress Urging Members to Vote "No" On the Semper Fi Act (02/26/2008)

ACLU Letter to Congress Urging Opposition to the Animal Enterprise Act, S. 1926 and H.R. 4239 (03/06/2006)

Interested Persons Memo: Section-by-Section Analysis of Justice Department draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003," also known as "PATRIOT Act II" (02/14/2003)

How the USA PATRIOT Act redefines "Domestic Terrorism" (12/06/2002)

Office of Presidential Advance - Presidential Advance Manual (06/28/2007)

ACLU-NJ SECURES RIGHT TO DISPLAY POLITICAL LAWN SIGNS (01/03/2005)

April 5th, 2004, DOJ OLC Opinion Condoning Controversial FBI Surveillance Tactics (08/16/2004)
The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued this previously undisclosed memorandum in support of the FBI's controversial surveillance of peaceful protesters. The memo was issued in response to an internal complaint by a government employee.

USAction Joins Nationwide Lawsuit to Challenge Use of "Protest Zones"; Charges Administration Used Barriers to Silence Anti-Bush Sentiments (09/23/2003)
USAction, a progressive activist organization dedicated to winning social and economic justice for all, represents over three million members in 33 affiliates, with statewide organizations in 23 states. We advocate for affordable healthcare and public education, promoting corporate responsibility and making the country's tax system fairer. We achieve these goals through voter mobilization, public education, legislative lobbying and direct actions, including protests. We firmly believe in exercising our First Amendment rights.

Free Speech Under Fire: The ACLU Challenge to "Protest Zones" (09/23/2003)
List of Plaintiffs

Free Speech Under Fire: The ACLU Challenge to "Protest Zones" (09/23/2003)
Fact Sheet