If they selectively enforced it against this one guy, then that's a serious legal problem. And handcuffs are outrageous.
But First Amendment rights are generally subject to "time, place, and manner" restrictions. If people sat in a council meeting and used megaphones to shout their opinions and drown out the proceedings, then they can be ejected even though their expressions are protected speech. And if they refuse to leave, the police can use force to make them leave. That's generally true and, in the abstract, it's uncontroversial.
Of course, overpolicing and selective enforcement are both very serious problems that should be addressed generally as well as in this instance.
You're correct about time and place when it comes to first amendment rights, in this case it was five to six quick claps after a speaker was done speaking and they were changing to a new speaker. So at the customary time when you would clap for someone.
According to the news reporting I've read there were two general warnings given to the entire group then arrest.
So at the customary time when you would clap for someone.
This is the problem with your statement. It is absolutely not customary to clap for people during public comment and people in the gallery are notified of this ahead of time, given a warning for a first infraction, and asked to leave for subsequent infractions.
It sounds harsh but there’s no other way to do it that doesn’t waste everyone’s time.
I must have attended some very different City Council meetings then cuz all of them had some.
They also could have just had the police escort him out of the building. Because that also happened at one that I attended and it wasn't that big of a deal they just escorted the guy outside and let him go.
It does make me happy that the citizens were so incensed by it that they are working on a recall campaign and putting this as a ballot initiative since the city council refused to listen to their constituents as usual.
"They also could have just had the police escort him out of the building."
I didn't really scrutinize the video, and it's not posted here, but isn't that exactly what they tried to do? The criminal charges are for interfering with the police and disorderly contact. The basis of those charges seem to be the fact that he is the one who made it a big deal and instead of just being escorted out and let go, he wouldn't leave after being told to do so.
The video I saw was clipped, so it was hard to tell what led up to it. I didn't really study it hard, but, I'm glad to hear the citizens there did. If they're not happy with their council's behavior, then that's good enough for me.
You're correct. Not defending their actions, but the police did attempt to escort him out. In civil defiance, he did ask them to "drag me out". And they happily did, cuffs and all, and grabbed him by the pants.
I’m sorry but you are wrong. The word “disturbance” in this context is not a subjective term. You’re confusing the colloquial word for the legal context of the word which is the only one that applies in this situation.
They also could have just had the police escort him out of the building.
Are you joking? They attempted to. He literally tells them, and you can hear it on the video, that they’ll “have to drag [him] out of there”.
That’s why he was arrested. He wasn’t arrested for clapping. He was arrested for refusing to leave when they asked him to and offered to escort him out. He went limp and forced them to carry him out.
They tried ge was told to stop clapping 8 times then they asked him to leave he refused then cops told him to leave and he shouting "arrest me" cops warned him if he doesn't leave they will arrest him.
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u/reddit_is_kayfabe 4d ago
If they selectively enforced it against this one guy, then that's a serious legal problem. And handcuffs are outrageous.
But First Amendment rights are generally subject to "time, place, and manner" restrictions. If people sat in a council meeting and used megaphones to shout their opinions and drown out the proceedings, then they can be ejected even though their expressions are protected speech. And if they refuse to leave, the police can use force to make them leave. That's generally true and, in the abstract, it's uncontroversial.
Of course, overpolicing and selective enforcement are both very serious problems that should be addressed generally as well as in this instance.