There is a risk that it can set a bad precedent if we were to lose. However, they passed a law without any facts to support their position. We have the facts and evidence to support our side and video evidence of mistreatment by the town and its police.
Their defense relied heavily upon the integrity of the Police Chief. That integrity went out the window with his juvenile harassment against us.
We are very confident we will ultimately prevail.
Being a local resident of the LaCrosse area having watched this play out over the last year, my opinion is that you will not prevail in the federal lawsuit. Any sane judge will look at the fact that there is a major reconstruction of the bridge between WI/MN going on which extends into the Town of Campbell on I-90. The town board had every right to ban protesters from the bridge at this time and any other with the lane closures and multiple on off ramps and exits in the proximity. Skirting around the sign ordinance wearing t-shirts instead of holding signs is juvenile at best.
Even without the construction, protesting on the bridge is a dangerous distraction - that is the town’s defense not the police chiefs integrity. He and his police officers were simply enforcing an ordinance that they were required to enforce by the town board. They did so calmly and patiently in the face of taunts, threats both in person and thru written and audio communications, and grave bodily harm. Fact - multiple death threats were made to various officers. The LaCrosse tea party was and is doing all they can to make their jobs miserable. Did they make the death threat calls personally - not sure but did they disseminate personal information on the town board member and police officers on multiple websites to entice others to harass for them in their stead, yes. Thus we have local tea party members who can throw their hands up and pretend they have no part in the viciousness of what has happened to law enforcement officers doing their required jobs. I for one do not condone this behavior nor should any “tea party” member.
It is very unfortunate that the self described local tea party leader is such an extremist - he, his cohorts and their antics give all rational tea party members a bad name. There are leftist extremists - we on the right have our own as well....
Ironically (and sadly) there was a multi-car accident with a fatality and multiple critical injuries not more than a few days ago almost directly under the bridge being argued about. It is not a safe area for distractions - there is no argument on that.
What this police chief did was inexcusable. On the same front what the local tea party has done and is doing behind the scenes to entice harassment and threats towards the police is inexcusable as well. There are no winners here. The Lacrosse Tea Party is doing what we often complain about - using the politics of personal destruction on local law enforcement officials. To achieve our means politically we tea party members should hold ourselves to a higher standard than those we oppose.
Finally, being a catholic I am frankly surprised that the Thomas More Law Center did not do a more thorough check on who they are representing. They did not pick a winner in this case.
do you have a feel for the composition of the judges...court system you will face? 1A friendly?