New Patriot Act Provision Creates Tighter Barrier to Officials at Public E

[Cambist]

WASHINGTON — A new provision tucked into the Patriot Act bill now before Congress would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any "special event of national significance" away to jail on felony charges if they are caught breaching a security perimeter.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,183147,00.html

[pinerow]

1. ahhh...the free speech zones...

where you can say anything you want as long as it is in support of this misadministration...sheesh

[OneBlueSky]

2. another way of saying "hammers the First Amendment . . .

into the ground" . . .

[fasttense]

3. It turns the Secret Service into a new police force or Gestapo

"the measure, which would extend the authority of the Secret Service to allow agents to arrest people who willingly or knowingly enter a restricted area at an event, even if the president or other official normally protected by the Secret Service isn't in attendance at the time."

So the SS can arrest you for crossing a security perimeter even if no one at the event is protected by the SS. That means no one of import needs to be at the "national even" for the SS to arrest you. Seems to me this gives card blanche to the SS to act as their own police force anytime, anywhere. Even if the "security perimeter" is not identified, you can still be arrested by the SS if they think you crossed it (the arrest may not hold up, but in the mean time the president's thugs can torture you).

[onenote]

6. if you're worried about arrests that won't hold up, what difference

does it make that they've changed the law?

By the way, NSSEs have been around since 1998,when they were first recognized by Bill Clinton in Presidential Decision Directive 62. And the Secret Service currently has authority (a) to participate in the implementation of security operations at special events of national significance (whether or not a protected person is present) and (b) arrest a person who interferes with them in the performance of their duties. So it doesn't seem that the new provision is really much of an expansion of existing law (although it does ratchet up the penalties).

If this provision really created a "gestapo" why isn't it on Feingold's list of provisions to modify in the Act?

There are seriously bad things in the Patriot Act; not sure that this one ranks high on the list.

onenote

[liberal N proud]

4. Back in USSR

You want to say something, it had better be pro government.
Dissent is not allowed.

[rodeodance]

5. it is that 'disruptor' new category that was posted a while back. Fox is

fast. NOT

[rodeodance]

7. "Creates Tighter Barrier to Officials"--of course this phasing of the

headline makes it seem like protestors are dangerous people.

[Demit]

8. So Arlen Specter sponsored this, huh. I once thought of him as moderate.

Screw him.