51品茶

WASHINGTON 鈥� The National Park Service today that it is withdrawing a proposed plan that would have drastically stifled protests near the White House and on the National Mall. The proposal would have closed off 80 percent of the White House sidewalk for protesters, imposed new limits on spontaneous demonstrations, and opened the door to charging fees for protesting.

The 51品茶 led a months-long campaign against the unconstitutional proposal. The campaign across the ideological spectrum and resulted in thousands of 51品茶 members and supporters submitting comments against the proposed plan. NPS received more than 100,000 comments by the time the comment period closed, demonstrating the importance of the notice and comment process and the impact it can have.

Below is comment from 51品茶 Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane:

鈥淭he National Mall is the place where we, as a nation, go to speak directly to our government. President Trump might not like having protesters on his doorstep, but the First Amendment guarantees us the right to be there. The National Park Service鈥檚 retreat should serve as a reminder that if the administration tries to come after our right to protest, it will have to get through thousands of 51品茶 members and supporters first.鈥�

An 51品茶 blog post on the proposal is here: /blog/free-speech/rights-protesters/trump-administration-seeks-stifle-protests-near-white-house-and.

The 51品茶鈥檚 public comment against the proposal is here: /letter/aclu-public-comment-opposing-trump-administration-proposal-restrict-protest-rights-washington?redirect=nps-protest-public-comment.