Thread: Hundreds Arrested On Capitol Hill Protesting Congress

Hundreds Arrested On Capitol Hill Protesting Congress

April 12, 2016
by Robert Fowler


Hundreds of protesters flocked to the U.S. Capitol to demand campaign finance reform and the restoration of voting rights.

Over 400 were escorted away in plastic handcuffs by police, vowing that this was just the beginning of a week-long effort.

On April 11, sympathizers of Democracy Spring, a collective of activist groups against big money in the U.S. political system, staged a peaceful protest in Washington D.C.

The movement had begun on April 2, when members of the progressive coalition began a roughly 150 mile march from Philadelphia to the nation’s capitol, according to Vice News.

The majority of the protesters who convened at the U.S. Capitol had not participated in the long march, but had instead traveled from all corners of the country.

Hundreds sat on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and demanded that Congress pass legislation to address unlimited dark money in the political system, district gerrymandering and voter suppression, NPR reports.

The Democracy Spring campaign director Kai Newkirk, head of the progressive activist group 99Rise, kicked off the protest by addressing the gathering crowd.

“We send a message — to everyone in our country who needs a government that represents us all — that this House is your House too, and now is the time to stand up and take it back.”

The sit-in was loosely organized, good-natured and peaceful. Many protesters had signs citing Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, although the collective has insisted that it is not endorsing any particular candidate.

Estimates the overall turnout range from 600 to 1,000. Several protesters were frustrated by the relatively small number.

Capitol police spent the entire afternoon managing the crowd. After cordoning the majority of the crowd, officers waited for buses arrived to escort protesters one by one into custody.

“More than 400 individuals have been arrested for unlawful demonstration activity, and are being processed using mass arrest procedures,” the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement, according to CNN.

A Capitol Police officer on the scene said that all the protesters without outstanding warrants would be processed, fined and then released.

Democracy Spring has planned to stage several more protests throughout the week until April 16. They expect a minimum of 3,500 people to join them at the U.S. Capitol.

Sources: CNN, NPR, Vice News / Photo Credit: Peter Overby / NPR

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/socie...money-politics

Should more people join the Democracy Spring in protesting campaign finance laws?
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http://www.opposingviews.com/i/socie...money-politics

4/11/16

Hundreds flock to US Capitol to protest money in politics, hundreds arrested

Police push protesters from Capitol 4/13/16

I don't understand why peaceful protesters were being cordoned onto buses and taken into custody. Don't we have the right to protest our government at the Capitol Building? No one cordoned off the protesters at Trump rallies and took them into custody.

Unlawful Assembly

A meeting of three or more individuals to commit a crime or carry out a lawful or unlawful purpose in a manner likely to imperil the peace and tranquillity of the neighborhood.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals the right of freedom of assembly. Under the Common Law and modern statutes, however, the meeting of three or more persons may constitute an unlawful assembly if the persons have an illegal purpose or if their meeting will breach the public peace of the community. If they actually execute their purpose, they have committed the criminal offense of riot.

Under the common law, when three or more individuals assembled for an illegal purpose, the offense of unlawful assembly was complete without the commission of any additional Overt Act. Some modern state statutes require both assembly and the commission of one of the acts proscribed by the statutes, even if the purpose of the assembly is not completed.

Generally, an unlawful assembly is a misdemeanor under both common law and statutes.

The basis of the offense of unlawful assembly is the intent with which the individuals assemble.The members of the assembled group must have in mind a fixed purpose to perform an illegal act. The time when the intent is formed is immaterial, and it does not matter whether the purpose of the group is lawful or unlawful if they intend to carry out that purpose in a way that is likely to precipitate a breach of the peace.

An assembly of individuals to carry on their ordinary business is not unlawful.

Conversely, when three or more persons assemble and act jointly in committing a criminal offense, such as Assault and Battery, the assembly is unlawful. All those who participate in unlawful assemblies incur criminal responsibility for the acts of their associates performed in furtherance of their common objective. The mere presence of an individual in an unlawful assembly is enough to charge that person with participation in the illegal gathering.

Political gatherings and demonstrations raise the most troublesome issues involving unlawful assembly. The line between protecting freedom of assembly and protecting the peace and tranquillity of the community is often difficult for courts to draw. In the 1960s, in a series of decisions involving organized public protests against racial Segregation in southern and border states, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out breach-of-the-peace convictions involving African Americans who had participated in peaceful public demonstrations. For example, in Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229, 83 S. Ct. 680, 9 L. Ed. 2d 697 (1963), the Court held that the conviction of 187 African American students for demonstrating on the grounds of the state capitol in Columbia, South Carolina, had infringed on their "constitutionally protected rights of free speech, free assembly, and freedom to petition for redress of their grievances."

In Adderley v. Florida, 385 U.S. 39, 87 S. Ct. 242, 17 L. Ed. 2d 149 (1966), however, the Court also made clear that assemblies are not lawful merely because they involve a political issue. In this case Harriet L. Adderley and other college students had protested the arrest of Civil Rights protesters by blocking a jail driveway. When the students ignored requests to leave the area, they were arrested and charged with Trespass. The Court held that "[t]he State, no less than a private owner of property, has power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated."

In general, a unit of government may reasonably regulate parades, processions, and large public gatherings by requiring a license. Licenses cannot, however, be denied based on the political message of the group. Persons who refuse to obtain a license and hold their march or gathering may be charged with unlawful assembly.

Cross-references

Freedom of Speech; Time, Place, and Manner Restrictions.
West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

unlawful assembly

n. although freedom of assembly is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, it is unlawful to assemble for the purpose of starting a riot or breaching the peace, or when such an assembly reasonably could be expected to cause a riot or endanger the public. The right of law enforcement to require disbursement of such an assembly is part of the "police powers" of the state, but the dangers of riot or breach of peace are subjective and decided on the spot by police officers or other public officials. Until the late 1930s claims of "unlawful assembly" were often used to break up labor union picket lines, against peaceful civil rights marches in the1950s and 1960s, and by the police against anti-Vietnam War demonstrators in Los Angeles,Washington and Chicago in the late 1960s.
Copyright © 1981-2005 by Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen T. Hill. All Right reserved.

unlawful assembly

a meeting of three or more people with the intent of carrying out any unlawful purpose.Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006
UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY, crim. law. A disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons who meet together with an intent mutually to assist each other in the execution of some unlawful enterprise of a private nature, with force and violence; if they move forward towards its execution, it is then a rout (q.v.) and if they actually execute their design, it amounts to a riot.(q.v.) 4 Bl. Com. 140; 1 Russ. on Cr. 254; Hawk. c. 65, s. 9; Com. Dig. Forcible Entry, D 10; Vin.Abr. Riots, &c., A.
A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedicti...awful+assembly

Top cop: Crime won’t be tolerated at Donald Trump event

Updated April 13, 2016 3:51 PM
By Tania Lopez tania.lopez@newsday.com



Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, during a news conference in Yaphank that his officers are fully prepared to handle crowds during Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's visit to Patchogue Thursday for a fundraiser at the Emporium nightclub. (Credit: News 12 Long Island)

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said Wednesday the department is ready for presidential candidate Donald Trump’s visit Thursday — and that any criminal behavior will not be tolerated.

Sini said the department’s objective is to provide an orderly environment at the 5 p.m. fundraiser hosted by Suffolk Republicans at The Emporium nightclub.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/a...ays-1.11687897

Why Thousands of Americans Are Lining Up to Get Arrested in D.C. This Week

4/15/16

A Group of Democracy Spring Activists Occupied the US Capitol