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:: 9.29.2003 ::
ACLU Sues Secret Service for Violating Rights of Anti-Bush ProtestersAt events across the country, the Secret Service has been violating the free speech rights of anti-President Bush protesters, the ACLU is charging in the first nationwide lawsuit of its kind.
When President Bush came to Neville Island, PA last year, protesters were herded behind a chain-link fence in a remote area while supporters were allowed to line the motorcade route.
The ACLU has seen a significant spike in such incidents under the Bush Administration, indicating a "pattern and practice" of discrimination against those who disagree with government policies.
Local police, acting at the direction of the Secret Service, have violated the rights of protesters in two ways:
-- People expressing views critical of the government were moved further away from public officials while those with pro-government views were allowed to remain closer; or,
-- Everyone expressing a view of any kind was herded into what is commonly known as a "protest zone," leaving those who merely observe, but express no view, to remain closer.
"The individuals we are talking about didn't pose a security threat; they posed a political threat," said Witold Walczak, Legal Director of the ACLU of Greater Pittsburgh and a member of the national ACLU legal team that filed today's lawsuit.
The ACLU's legal papers list more than a dozen examples of censorship at events around the country. The incidents described took place in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas and Washington, among other places. All were initiated at the behest of the Secret Service and are evidence of a growing -- and disturbing -- trend. Read the ACLU's complaint in this case.
Read examples of police censorship against protesters.
Read the ACLU report, "Freedom Under Fire: Dissent in Post-9/11 America."
:: Deb 10:10 AM :: permalink ::
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