Push back against Trump’s attempt to limit protests in Washington, D.C., by leaving a comment on the proposal before the Monday, October 15 deadline.

 

Because this came up quickly and the deadline is Monday, OTYCD will feature this action daily between now and then.

 

Every time Trump does something horrible, which is often, word soon breaks on social media about a quickly organized protest in D.C. on public land. And certainly, you are aware of the nightly #KremlinAnnex protests at Lafayette Square, near the White House, which have been going since summer.

 

Trump, being Trump, doesn’t give a damn about the First Amendment and is trying to limit the ability to protest in the nation’s capital.

 

If this goes through, it would curtail the ability to protest on land that belongs to the National Parks Service (NPS). That includes the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial, Lafayette Park, the Ellipse, the White House Sidewalk, and areas along Pennsylvania Avenue, including sidewalks near Trump’s hotel in D.C.

 

It would curtail protests by letting the NPS impose waiting periods on granting protest permits; charge fees for erecting barricades, restoring grass, and similar effects of large gatherings; give the police more latitude to arbitrarily end a protest; and ban long-term protests such as #KremlinAnnex, among other moves.

 

Follow the links below and leave a comment against the proposal, and do it before Monday, October 15 if you can.

 

Please note, however: When you submit a public comment, your words and any info you give to submit the comment will become part of a public record.

 

If you have gone to a protest in D.C., please talk about your experiences in your comment. Stress how vital it is to have the right to engage in free speech, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights, in its very first amendment.

 

Please alert friends and family who have attended protests, even if they haven’t yet managed to go to one in D.C. If these new regulations go through, they will set a bad precedent that could affect protests closer to home.

 

Lastly, follow Ben Wikler on Twitter (@BenWikler) for updates on this matter. He’s the Washington, D.C. head of MoveOn.

 

Here is the link to the ACLU’s page for submitting comments to the NPS:

https://action.aclu.org/petition/dc-restrict-demonstration-rights?redirect=DC-protest-plan&ms_aff=DC&initms_aff=DC&ms=181010_freespeech_DCprotests_BLOG&initms=181010_freespeech_DCprotests_BLOG&ms_chan=web&initms_chan=web

 

 

Here also is the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund’s background page on the NPS proposal:

http://www.justiceonline.org/take_action_now_stop_trump_new_laws_to_crush_protests_in_washington_dc#/5/

 

 

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