The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota urged Hennepin County Administrator Richard Johnson on Thursday to rescind new restrictions imposed on a group of anti-Wall Street protesters who have been staging a round-the-clock occupation of the Hennepin County Government Center plaza.
A county spokeswoman told the Associated Press that the request was rejected.
The county announced new rules on Wednesday for the protesters who began sleeping on the plaza and surrounding grounds on Oct. 7. The new rules prohibit protesters from sleeping overnight on the plaza with the first prediction of snowfall or temperatures below 25 degrees. The county is also requiring the protesters to consolidate their possessions, prohibit unattended items on the plaza, and bars the placement of signs on the plaza.
Charles Samuelson, the state ACLU's executive director, told me today, "It is possible we may file suit over this." The ACLU believes the restrictions violate the protesters' First Amendment rights.
Samuelson said his office has met with several OccupyMN activists and he said the protest group will be discussing whether the state ACLU should represent them at its general assembly meeting that it will hold tonight.
He said the state ACLU has contacted a number of major law firms and two are interested in representing OccupyMN "if it gets that far." The firms are checking to see if they have conflicts of interest.
If the state ACLU gets the go-ahead from the protesters, and it is able to a secure lawyers to represent them, he said the ACLU would try to negotiate with the county. If no resolution is reached, he said, "we will attempt to get a temporary restraining order." If there is a lawsuit, it is still about a week away, he said.
Teresa Nelson, legal counsel for the state ACLU, said in a letter to Richard Johnson, the county's administrator, that the First Amendment protects all forms of expression against governmental interference and restraint.
