Free Republic

A young New Jersey woman has been slapped with a $2,500 fine for police overtime costs after she set up a “small, peaceful Black Lives Matter protest” at the end of July, according to a report. Emily Gil, 18, who graduated in June from Bergen County Technical School, failed to properly warn authorities in advance about the event, NJ.com reported. Gil believed that a shortage of affordable housing options in her neighborhood was a racial issue that should be brought to the public’s attention through a 30- to 40-person protest, according to NJ.com.

So much for free speech! A New Jersey teen organized a Black Lives Matter rally that lasted 90-minutes — and days later, was handed a bill from the mayor for $2,500 to cover “police overtime,” reports say Emily Gil set up the peaceful protest for late July in Englewood Cliffs to bring attention to the lack of affordable housing in the North Jersey town, according to The Bergen Record.

When Emily Gil learned of the lack of affordable housing in Englewood Cliffs — and the fact she believes Black residents are priced out of her Bergen County hometown — she felt an urgent need to enact change. The 18-year-old, who graduated from Bergen County Technical School in June, organized a small, peaceful Black Lives Matter protest last month, she says. “Englewood Cliffs has dodged affordable housing requirements for 40-plus years,” Gil told NJ Advance Media. “I find that unacceptable.” Four days after the July 25 rally, Gil received a hefty bill for police overtime. “Please promptly forward your payment...