A story arising from a protest at a Republican presidential rally in Prescott Valley October 4th raises very interesting points about the First Amendment and when, where and how we as Americans, and Arizonans in particular, have the right to exercise free speech.
The rally, which took place at the Prescott Valley Event Center and which is owned by the City of Prescott Valley, drew Trump protesters. Although neither the article nor the video indicates what the young lady said beforehand, the focus is on threats made by a Prescott Valley police officer in response:
“if you mouth off, particularly to a person, that is a crime…one more time you go to jail.”
Without knowing exactly what was said it’s not possible to say for certain that officer was wrong; but, it appears unlikely he was right. The rally was held at a public venue, where a clearly demarcated protest area had been set up in advance. Having said that, if the protest area was set up on private property and/or was not on the grounds of the Center, even then the rights of the property owner extend only to the removal of the offending person, not to arrest, unless the person refuses to leave.
Did you know?
You have a constitutionally protected right to engage in peaceful protest in public forums, and the message of the protest cannot be the basis of restricting that right; however, the government can restrict the time, place and manner of the protest.
If performed in combination with illegal actions, that speech is not protected.
Free speech is not protected when on private property, and the property owners themselves have rights to set rules and eject violators.
Illegal immigrants are not excluded from the constitutional right to free speech based on immigration status, and local, federal and state governments are prohibited from restricting that right.
Malicious statements about public officials and obscene speech are not protected, nor is speech used to cause immediate violence.
To read an interesting article on this topic and its bearing on incidents at the political rally, click the azcentral.com article below:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona: http://www.acluaz.org/
Gordon Thompson
