Protest groups plan to argue in court that DNC area 'caged pen'

Rocky Mountain News ^ | July 25, 2008 | Kevin Vaughan

[MtnClimber]

A fenced-in area for demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention amounts to putting the proverbial "soapbox in the town square" inside a "caged pen" on the "outskirts of town."

Or so the American Civil Liberties Union and a host of protest groups plan to argue in federal court next week.

Not so, the city and county of Denver and the U.S. Secret Service plan to assert.

"To be clear, this so-called 'demonstration zone' is not an isolated area to which the city will confine demonstrators," lawyers for Denver argued in a brief filed on the eve of next Tuesday's trial to settle lingering First Amendment issues raised by protest groups and the ACLU.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger is scheduled to hear a host of concerns raised by the ACLU and the protest groups at the trial.

Essentially, the demonstrators have asserted that their rights to assemble, make their voices heard and engage in activities like handing out leaflets have been threatened by the security plans for the convention.

[old curmudgeon]

Very funny.

The party “of the people and for the people” is terrified of the people!

The party that represents the disenfranchised doesn’t want to hear from or see the disenfranchised!

[rfp1234]

What’s worse, calling someone “Macaca” or treating a whole group of people as caged Macacas? Next thing you know, they’ll be hurling feces (just like in ‘68)!

[PaleoBob]

I hope Denver wins this case because the Re-Create ‘68 loons will then have much more of a CAUSE come convention time. With any luck at all, they’ll “run wild” and further fracture the already somewhat fragmented ‘Rat party. Nothing like the imagery that comes with riots on TV to give America a perfect view of what this crowd really represents.

[navyguy]

A caged pen is exactly where these communist street maggots belong.

[rdl6989]

You beat me to it.