Free Republic

ST. CHARLES • The arrest Saturday afternoon of two anti-Barack Obama protesters on an Interstate 70 overpass is stirring controversy - fueled by a video of the incident circulating on the internet. The two — Marc S. Messmer, 41, of St. Charles, and Jimmy D. "Duane" Weed, 57, of Bridgeton — say that their constitutional rights were violated. "Citizens have a right to peaceably assemble," said Messmer, who was part of a series of overpass demonstrations around the country seeking the president's impeachment. "We were simply doing that. There were no laws broken." Sgt. Al Nothum, a spokesman for the...

"Citizens have a right to peaceably assemble," said Messmer, who was part of a series of overpass demonstrations around the country seeking the president's impeachment. "We were simply doing that. There were no laws broken." Sgt. Al Nothum, a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol, said the potential for a traffic hazard was why the two and 10 or so other protesters were told by officers to leave the Fairgrounds Road overpass about 2 p.m. The two were arrested, he said, for failing to obey. Nothum said the patrol wants charges filed but prosecutors have yet to decide. The patrol...

A few of you sent me this video, published to Youtube today, of the weekend overpass protests, this one in St. Charles, Missouri. I’m still trying to figure out what laws these protesters broke. While I wasn’t there, it seems to me the protesters were standing on public ground, not in traffic, therefor not impeding traffic. Having organized and attended many protests myself — and having worked with local law enforcement to make sure regulations (even mindlessly unnecessary ones) are met, so long as a protester isn’t standing in traffic, there isn’t an issue. Am I missing something here? Don’t...