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Government Storm Troopers Arrest Anti-Bush Demonstrators
(Paul J. Nyden, BuzzFlash, July 14, 2004)
A worker with the Federal Emergency Management Agency who wore an anti-Bush T-shirt at the president's July Fourth rally in Charleston has been sent home to Texas. . . . Nicole Rank, who was working for FEMA in West Virginia, and her husband, Jeff, were removed from the Capitol grounds in handcuffs shortly before Bush's speech. The pair wore T-shirts with the message "Love America, Hate Bush." . . . The Ranks were ticketed for trespassing and released. They have been given summonses to appear in court, Charleston Police Lt. C.A. Vincent said Wednesday. . . . Rank was doing environmental work for FEMA, Fredenburg said. "Nicole was deployed here after the Memorial Day flooding. I knew her personally ... We are reservists and work for intermittent periods of time." . . . [COMMENT: Ah ha, not only were these good people anti-Bush, they are also pro-environment. Big Brother doesn't tolerate this kind of behavior you know.] . . . The White House coordinated the president’s visit to the state Capitol. Organizers described it as a presidential visit, not a political rally. State and federal funds were used to pay for the presidential visit. . . . Dozens of people who attended Sunday's event wore pro-Bush T-shirts and Bush-Cheney campaign buttons, some of which were sold on the Capitol grounds outside the security screening stations. . . . Those who attended Bush's speech were required to have tickets that were distributed by various employers in the area and by the office of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. . . . Those who applied for tickets were required to supply their names, addresses, birth dates, birthplaces and Social Security numbers. . . . A two-page document given to ticket holders said they were prohibited from bringing certain items to the event, including: weapons, video-recording equipment, food, beverages, umbrellas, signs and banners. T-shirts, political buttons and lapel pins were not on the list of prohibited items. . . . Robert Bastress, a West Virginia University law professor who specializes in civil liberties, questions whether people like the Ranks can be legally prohibited from wearing anti-Bush shirts or buttons. . . . "Obviously, you have a right to engage in nondisruptive protest," he said. "If you were legally there, you cannot be asked to leave because of whatever message is on a button or a T-shirt or a hat." . . . He said key questions are "whether the [Bush speech] was a public forum, whether you were lawfully there and what was the manner in which you were engaging in your expression." . . . Event organizers could prohibit signs, designating a place where people could carry signs. "But they can’t make those decisions based on what the content of any sign says." . . . Bastress also said it makes no difference whether Sunday's event was an official presidential visit or a political rally. . . . "That area was open to anybody who had a ticket," he said. "Once you were lawfully in there, you were entitled to even-handed treatment."

[COMMENT: I wonder if the NYC police are going to arrest all 100,000 demonstrators at the Republican convention when they break out singing the new American anthem, I Only Wish That God Would Take Bush

posted by LoZo 10:43 AM