Anti-War Protesters Pushed Out of Sight by Secret Service
St. Louis, January 22, 2003: For the second time in as many months,
anti-war protesters in St. Louis were arrested when they showed up to
greet President George W. Bush with signs critical of the President.
During the President's visit to St. Louis today, one protester was
arrested when he refused to be herded into an area designated for
protest activity. In November, two activists were arrested when they
also refused to be moved into a "designated protest zone." In both
instances, the zones were well away from the path of the President's
motorcade, and in both instances demonstrators voicing support for
the President were allowed to remain on the motorcade route.
It is now common practice at political events attended by members
of Bush Administration for police and secret service agents to create
special protest areas, typically located out of viewing distance of
the actual event. The policy only applies to protesters with
dissenting views.
"There is nothing more sacred in our country than the ability to
voice one's opinion," said ACLU of Eastern Missouri Executive
Director Matt LeMieux. "Herding dissenters into far away zones, while
supporters are allowed to get within earshot of the President, serves
absolutely no purpose other than to suppress certain viewpoints."
Protesters in St. Louis are not alone. Around the country,
dissenters have been arrested for being unwilling to surrender their
First Amendment rights during Presidential visits. Recently, a
newspaper characterized the protest zones used against protesters in
Pittsburgh with a headline reading "Dissent Corral Not OK." In
Phoenix police arrested the director of the ACLU of Arizona , who was
acting as a legal observer, for taking pictures of the protest during
a Presidential visit. ACLU offices across the country are currently
working to get charges dropped against people arrested for nothing
more than wanting to voice their opinion during a visit by the
President.
"Unfortunately, this is not all that new," added LeMieux. "These
zones were used during both the Democratic and Republican
conventions, and have been used with regularity since the first day
President Bush took office. Free speech rights are simply meaningless
if they can only be exercised in an area far away from the intended
audience."
Which is exactly why Human Rights Action Service Director Bill
Ramsey and activist Angela Gordon were arrested while protesting
President Bush's policies on Iraq at the St. Charles Family Arena on
November 4, 2002. After being moved farther and farther away, they
finally objected when told they would have to move approximately 1/4
mile away to a gravel parking lot that serves the Katy Trail - a
space that according to the protesters, they would not have been seen
by the President or his entourage. They objected because moving to
the "protest zone" would have rendered their speech meaningless. ACLU
of Eastern Missouri General Counsel Steve Ryals is representing
Ramsey and Gordon as cooperating attorney for the ACLU-EM.
"While a security buffer may be appropriate, one that regulates
based on viewpoint is indefensible on security and First Amendment
grounds," concluded ACLU of Eastern Missouri Legal Director Denise
Lieberman.
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