Hey Bundy: WAY back in 2002, 2003 the ACLU sued BUSH for "Free Speech Zones"

[stg81]

Just FYI.

Free Speech Under Fire: The ACLU Challenge to ""Protest Zones""

September 23, 2003

WASHINGTON - In many cities across the country, the Secret Service has discriminated against protesters during Presidential and Vice Presidential appearances. Such incidents have spiked under the Bush Administration, prompting the ACLU to charge government officials with a ""pattern and practice"" of discrimination against those who disagree with its policies.

….

Evansville, Indiana

On February 6, 2002, Vice President Cheney was scheduled to appear at the local Civic Center. John Blair, a local activist, walked back and forth on the sidewalk across the street from the Civic Center carrying a sign reading ""Cheney - 19th C. Energy Man."" When Blair stopped walking, he was ordered to move to a ""protest zone"" more than a block away from the Civic Center. When he refused to do so, he was arrested. Spectators or passers-by who did not express any views about the Vice President's policies were allowed to walk on the sidewalk in front of the Civic Center. Blair, represented by the ACLU, successfully challenged the arrest. But the lawsuit remains in force because the city has refused to acknowledge that it had no right to ignore Blair's constitutional rights.


Kalamazoo, Michigan

At President Bush's appearance at Western Michigan University on March 27, 2001, a protester was carrying a sign sarcastically commenting on the prior Presidential election (""Welcome Governor Bush"&quot . A Western Michigan policeman ordered him to go to a ""protest zone"" behind an athletic building located 150-200 yards from the parade route. After the protestor was ordered to move, several hundred people who were not carrying signs congregated in the area where the lone protester had stood and were allowed to remain there. The protest zone was located so that people sent there could not be seen by the President or his motorcade. When the protester refused to enter the protest zone, but insisted on standing where other people had been allowed to gather, he was arrested. Local police testified at his trial that the decisions had been made by the Secret Service.


St. Louis, Missouri

On November 4, 2002, one day before Election Day, the President came to the St. Charles Family Arena. Two protesters carrying signs critical of the President's policy on Iraq were ordered into a ""protest zone"" approximately one-quarter mile away, a location completely out of sight of the building. When the protesters refused, they were arrested. Meanwhile, protesters carrying signs supporting Republican candidates in the election were not ordered into the protest zone, were allowed closer to the President, and were not arrested.

https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/free-speech-under-fire-aclu-challenge-protest-zones

Many more details at the link. Where was the tea party when this was happening? Oh that's right, they were hippie-punching. Who's the hippie now?

[Dawson Leery]

1. That's right. Today's tea party were Bush's strongest/blind supporters.