RI ACLU Sues McKee for Restricting Protest at State of the State Address
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RI ACLU Sues McKee for Restricting Protest at State of the State Address
According to the ACLU, the case "[seeks] to vindicate the right to free speech and assembly at the state’s quintessential public forum for free speech activity – the Rhode Island State House."
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About Incident
In its release on Tuesday, the ACLU maintained the following:
On the same evening as the Governor’s speech, a “People’s State of the State” rally to raise awareness about economic disparity in Rhode Island was planned by local groups, including the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project, and by Harrison Tuttle, who at the time was President of the Rhode Island Black Lives Matter PAC (which has since dissolved). The rally was supposed to take place in the State House rotunda an hour before the Governor’s State of the State address in the House of Representatives chamber.
But upon arriving at the State House, Tuttle and others were advised that the Governor’s office had instructed State Police and Capitol Police to prevent them from accessing the Rotunda and the upper floors of the State House. The suit claims that the police even explicitly told Tuttle that they had instructions from the Governor’s office to bar him in particular from entering those areas. At the same time, the suit notes, other people were permitted free access to the same areas.
The rotunda is a well-known public space regularly used for protests and demonstrations, and the public areas of the State House have historically and traditionally been open to the public before and during the annual State of the State address. For this year’s address, however, entrance to the rotunda was blocked off by Capitol and State Police with a sign indicating that it was reserved from 4:30 pm to 10 pm, although records indicate that the Governor’s staff didn’t formally “reserve” the space until 4:39 PM. In any event, despite being “reserved,” the rotunda was not used for any purpose during that timeframe.
Unable to hold their rally in the rotunda, the protesters were instead shunted by police to the “Bell Room” for their rally, a recessed area in the back of the State House on the first floor located away from the building’s main entrance and elevators, and in a less visible and less accessible location than the rotunda.
More About Suit
The lawsuit argues that the Governor’s reservation of the space and the Capitol and State Police’s actions were undertaken to stifle the protesters’ exercise of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by ACLU of RI cooperating attorneys Lynette Labinger and Sonja Deyoe, seeks a declaratory judgment that the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights were violated; a permanent injunction prohibiting the Governor and others from restricting the right of the people to peacefully gather in the State House rotunda based on the content of their speech; and an award of damages and attorneys’ fees.
The ACLU adds that "to prevent a recurrence, the lawsuit will seek judicial relief before next January’s State of the State address."
McKee's office did not respond to request for comment at time of publication