Constitutional Law

Brady Campaign protests -- only when press shows up

Story here. Or of course the story could be the other way around.-- the media only shows up when given advance notice of a protest.

While working as an agency attorney in DC, at lunch I heard others describing a protest at the White House. It went something like -- they will enter with the 11 AM tourist group. At 11:15, eight members will depart from the group and enter the area where tourists are not allowed. About five minutes thereafter they will be told to depart, and only four will remain. At 11:30 the four will be arrested." I asked about the remarkable orchestration and was told it was normal. This way the park police were put to a minimal burden, the protesters were released without having to post bail, and the media knew exactly when to show up for the story. Later on, I heard of resolving disputes where the negotiated solution had gone awry. In one case an attorney for the protesters remained with them and was arrested. She was upset and argued that her arrest was not part of the deal, and park police argued that she had stayed with the people who were to be arrested, and so was not covered by the agreement. In another some protesters regarding AIDS had officers pick them up while the officers wore rubber gloves, which they thought insulting, and not part of the deal, and the park police position was that no terms had been negotiated regarding gloves. The last dispute was carried in the Washington Post, as something commonplace.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on February 07, 2011 (boomark / email).