RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown yesterday on the Occupy Providence protest:The ACLU fully supports the right of ‘Occupy Providence’ to engage in forms of peaceful protest at the park and elsewhere in the city in order to express their political views and promote their cause. We believe that some of the particular rules and ordinances that have been cited by the City in an October 27th letter to protesters – including an apparent ban on any protest activity in the park after 9 PM – may be constitutionally problematic if they were to be enforced against members of ‘Occupy Providence.’ Peaceful First Amendment activity should not be subject to a curfew.The Projo oddly(?) buried the lede with their headline, “ACLU: Federal ruling limits Occupy Providence’s right to remain”. Contrast that with GoLocal’s take, “ACLU Supports Occupy Providence.” The ACLU did note the federal ruling and also their opposition to it:Issues surrounding the group’s indefinite encampment are more complicated. Unfortunately, there is a U.S. Supreme Court decision, called Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, which upheld, in the similar context of a political protest, the constitutionality of a federal rule against overnight camping in certain public parks. We disagree with that ruling, but under the circumstances, we believe it significantly limits the First Amendment arguments that are available in support of the group’s right to indefinitely encamp at Burnside Park without a permit.The ACLU statement also hints at the possibility of legal action “for challenging Providence’s camping ban,” as yet unexamined.
For their part, the Taveras administration issued a statement with plans to pursue eviction via the courts. The mayor selectively quotes the ACLU statement in support of this action. Hopefully the rest of the words of the ACLU will weigh heavily as well:
This historic protest has been extraordinarily peaceful, and the participants appear to have been cooperative with city officials and respectful of needs relating to public safety. We appreciate the comments that have been made by the Providence Commissioner of Public Safety that any eviction proceedings will be done through an orderly civil, not criminal, process, and that there will be no effort to use force to remove people from the park. It is essential that all appropriate due process is provided before any such proceedings take place.
