Secret Service Seeks To Prevent Catastrophe At The DNC

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and more than a dozen advocacy groups, including Re-create 68 Alliance, sued the City of Denver and the Secret Service. The Protesters complain the parade route and demonstration zone mapped out by Denver will keep protesters from being seen or heard by delegates entering the Democratic National Convention:

The city's plan would allow protesters to get as close as a parking lot on the Pepsi Center's grounds and they would have to leave by 3 p.m. That's about the time that delegates are expected to begin arriving each day.

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger held a hearing on the lawsuit:

A Secret Service official testified that the general public must be kept at a distance from the Pepsi Center for fear of something "catastrophic," such as a bomb or chemical attack.

The protesters argued that the designated protest zone and parade route are too far from delegates and others entering the convention:

The distance violates protesters' First Amendment rights to free speech, their attorneys said.

The protest zone at the Pepsi Center, for example, would be more than two football fields from the doors most delegates will use, and separated from the arena by a large media tent.

Delegates dropped off at the building will pass by the fenced-in area, from between 200 and 400 feet away. They would be allowed within 8 feet of the protesters if they choose to approach, but will be separated from them by two chain-link fences.

The City countered saying the protesters will have ample opportunity to be heard:

The city will provide two loudspeakers outside the protest zone near the Pepsi Center, according to court documents. Protesters inside the fenced zone may use the amplification system, or bring their own bullhorns.

The Democratic National Convention Committee also will set up a table of leaflets and other information from protest groups "along the main thoroughfare" used by delegates and the media, the documents state.

A member of Re-create 68 Alliance, said the organization is "totally committed" to nonviolence and has no plans to cause trouble. But a city attorney said Re-create 68 Alliance's Web site includes a 24-page manual of "street tactics." The manual has information on how to build shields and how to conduct a "wedge charge" to prevent police from shutting down a march or protest.

Protesters at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota will be allowed to get much closer to the venue and delegates. A city permit allows protesters to get as close 84 feet away from the arena's doors.

A federal judge in Minneapolis sided with St. Paul city and police leaders and rejected a protest group's attempt to get closer:

Judge Joan Ericksen said the government officials have security reasons to justify the restrictions on the permit for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War.

[. . .]

Ericksen said the restrictions are content-neutral and narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest. She said they don't squelch free speech.

In what may be a bad omen for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Re-create 68 Alliance, Judge Ericksen wrote, coalition members have "no constitutional right to physical access to the delegates."