POLICE ORDER D.C. CHAPTER'S PRO-TROOPS WALTER REED DEMONSTRATION SILENCED

Friday, December 30, 2005 | Kristinn

[kristinn]

An officer with Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) ordered the D.C. Chapter of Free Republic to silence our voices tonight at our weekly support the troops demonstration outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The officer cited complaints from the neighborhood about the noise our voices make as we chastise the so-called antiwar protesters across the street at the main gate to Walter Reed.

The officer went across the street and issued the same order to the Code Pinkos. We're not sure if the order applies to their singalong guitar player (who serenaded the wounded troops tonight with Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door".)

Two weeks ago, several MPD officers staked out our Walter Reed demonstration. One officer issued a similar order but he did not enforce it as we verbally challenged it on First Amendment grounds and called in a complaint to MPD's 4th District HQ where Walter Reed is located.

We plan to formally challenge tonight's order as a violation of our First Amendment rights. D.C. case law is extremely "liberal" when it comes to exercising First Amendment rights and we believe there is strong grounds for our right to vocalize our political beliefs.

Our permit application on file with MPD clearly states that we planned to use battery powered megaphones. MPD has not denied the usage of megaphones when they processed the application. However, out of respect for the residents in the mixed-use area we have never used megaphones--just our voices.

The D.C. noise ordinance kicks in at 10 p.m. We stop using our loud voices between 9 and 9:30 p.m. when Code Pink slinks off before the Fran O'Brien's bus returns to Walter Reed with the soldiers and their family members.

Several months ago, Code Pink left fliers at the doors of residences near Walter Reed encouraging them to call the police to complain about our vocal exercising of our First Amendment rights.

We understand the complaints of those who live in the neighborhood, however our demonstration would be crippled if we were silenced.

We've never had to file a lawsuit in seven years of activism in our nation's capital, but there's a first time for everything.

[DollyCali]

Good luck to you.. my only suggestion for being IN was perhaps my misunderstanding that you were no longer permitted on the curb..

Silent presence?

[ErnBatavia]

crack houses, whorehouses

You guys probably see Marion Barry on a pretty regular basis then, huh?

[trooprally]

Clarification noted. The police do want us to stay on the curb and out of the parking lane, but some of us still drift into the parking lane, especially after we park our vehicles there. We drift out there because there are so many of us, our signs get lost among the others. So the FReepers on the ends drift out there.

Have a Happy New Year.

[Hoodlum91]

Yes...what happened? I miss a week and everything goes nuts!

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[Landry Fan]

I don't have any specifics. Happy New Year!

[Taxman]

Forces of Evil at work, yet again?

What if you bring a copy of the DC Noise Ordinance and your permit with you next FRiday?

I gotta bring Mrs. Taxman back up there for another one of those FRabulous FReeps! We'll get around tuit directly, I expect.

[W04Man]

I see that the Walter Reed Provost is STILL letting Code Pink hang their signs on Government Property (the fence). I had written the Provost about it, but never got a response.

[nina0113]

What I mean by this is that the police decided to end the misbehavior of one group by eliminating both groups. They used the excuse of neighborhood complaints even though such complaints could have been a tactic being used by Code Pink to take you off the block.

I think Code Pink instigated this as a way of shutting it all down, so that they don't have to slink off in disgrace after the DC Chapter's kicked their butts consistently. They've probably been looking for a way to bail for a while. Their best outcome would be for us to be shut down while they're allowed to continue, but they'll accept any "out" at this point.

I'm not inclined to accept that. Do we have a plan yet?

[Kimberly GG]

thanks for explaining.

I am grateful to know that there are FR's there and that there efforts are realized!!

[cgk]

*ping*

[freema]

"Code Pink's presence outside the hospital gates disturbs, enrages, and adds to the stress level of the war wounded and their families."

I'm going to modify that, if you don't mind.

Code Pink's presence outside the hospital gates disturbs, enranges, and adds to the stress level of the war families hundreds of miles away.

[freema]

"Code Pink's presence outside the hospital gates disturbs, enrages, and adds to the stress level of the war wounded and their families."

I'm going to modify that, if you don't mind.

Code Pink's presence outside the hospital gates disturbs, enranges, and adds to the stress level of the war families hundreds of miles away.

You know it's just not bad enough to wonder how your loved ones will fare in combat, but to imagine how you will support them if they come home alive but in pieces and see this shit.

God bless you all.

I support your efforts 1,000% to
run those sons of bitches out on a rail.

[freema]

Is there a better way?

[El Gato]

I was looking at the photos from last night's event. (Keep up the good work!). This one struck me as needing a bit of an addition.

Could any of the photo shop squad of the Pajamajedan militia add another line to the sign? Something to the effect of "Before they win".

[Paul Ross]

Bump.

Hang tough.

[El Gato]

call the ACLU

Snort, Gag, Choke.

ROTFLMAO

or I would be if I weren't in the grip of La Gripe (the flu). If I laugh, I cough and if I cough, my ribs hurt. So I had to settle for just a chortle. Even that was pushing it. :)

[Gadsdenman]

I think you nailed it, Nina. They can sing "We Shall Overcome" all they want, but the truth is: Week after week, FReepers and allies are humiliating them. Not shaming them, that's impossible, but humiliating them by outnumbering them consistently in the heart of one of America's liberal strongholds.

Every week we have some first-timers, some of whom come from great distances away, and they all want to come back and do it again. Their first-timers rarely return. There are many photos of Gael looking distracted and distant. (worried about her failure to rally her "troops"?) She knows they've lost this battle, and it's making her look bad.

[Sisku Hanne]

WR is a fenced and self-contained campus with 2 main entrances on Georgia Ave. The grounds look much like a college, with grassy areas, lots of trees and winding drives connecting assorted buildings.

Pinkos got permits for the two corners adjacent to the entrance gate, and we got permits for the two opposing corners and that is where we must stay. I doubt anyone would be allowed on the grounds, and they would then be out of sight of the passing traffic.

We face WR; they have their backs to it. Wounded soldiers can look out of their windows and see our flags and signs from across the lawn but it would be highly unlikely they could hear us unless they had an open window and the wind was carrying sound in the right direction. BTW, they tend to gather on Fridays to see if the "star-spangled banner yet waves" in support of them and in opposition to the human detritus that is Code Pink.

One of our corners is (unfortunately) in front of several residences; the other in front of a small church parking lot. There is no doubt in my mind that the the Pinkos, being humiliated to the point of losing most of their "duped" members, are now trying to leverage a few locals to shut us down, or calling in their own complaints in an effort to exploit the residents of that corner. The good policemen have no choice but to respond, taking them away from more vital patrols in this troubled neighborhood. They conduct themselves very professionally, and make every effort to be neutral so they Pinkos won't whine about discrimination.

The decibel meter sounds like a good idea. Nothing we say is louder than an average car horn, which is something the residents have to hear all hours of the day & night anyway. If you chose to live on that street you definitely are going into a noisy living situation with your eyes wide open.

[Sisku Hanne]

I agree with your assessment. They're trying to create a situation where they can claim "they wanted to continue their so-called "vigil" but the meanie contentious FReepers got everybody kicked out."

Any plan that is developed as a counteroffensive should not be discussed in full here, as the verminous Pinko skank punks are monitoring this thread.