DC Court Vindicates Rights of Anti-War Protesters

A federal judge ruled this week in ANSWER v. Kempthorne that the National Park Service improperly violated its own "special events" permit regulations when it denied a group of anti-war protesters access to major portions of President Bush's inaugural parade route in 2005.  The ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), had sought access to bleacher seats and sidewalk areas lining Pennsylvania Avenue, but was denied after the Park Service reserved those areas for observers approved by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.  Instead, protesters were directed to obstructed viewing area described in court documents as "tiny pockets away from the front of the parade route and frequently behind massive bleachers of Bush supporters."  AP has more. 

The decision marks the latest in a series of controversies arising from inauguration day protests.  In 2006, the Metropolitan Police Department agreed to pay $685,000 plus fees and costs after plainclothes officers assaulted demonstrators and unlawfully restricted access to Bush's 2001 inauguration.  The Department also agreed that officers would be required to report any use of force that occurs during a public protest.  A prior policy had suspended the use of force reporting requirement during public protest events, though reporting is required during the course of regular police business. 

-Kathleen A. Bergin

photo credit: MSNBC