ACLU sues Secret Service and police over 2004 anti-Bush protest

[struggle4progress]

04:40 PM PDT on Thursday, July 6, 2006
By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer

MEDFORD, Ore. -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging the U.S. Secret Service and state and local police protecting President Bush during a 2004 campaign appearance discriminated against anti-Bush protesters when they moved to clear the streets outside an inn where the president was eating dinner.

The class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court contends that police acting on orders from the Secret Service used unreasonable force to move some 200 people peacefully protesting against the war in Iraq in the historic Gold Rush town of Jacksonville while allowing pro-Bush demonstrators to remain standing on sidewalks ...

Fidanque and attorney Ralph Temple said they knew of 16 similar instances in 12 other states and at least three other lawsuits have been filed.

"We have no quarrel with protecting the president." Temple said. "Consistently, the Secret Service has used protection of the president as an excuse for keeping anti-Bush protesters out of the hearing of the president." ...

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_070606_news_protest_lawsuit.31009da4.html

[wakeme2008]

1. If Clinton has done things like this

we would never hear the end of it .

[Gman]

2. Corporate mentality often is that

getting sued and losing is often worth the cost and can be considered a cost of doing business. Across the country over the last so many years, there are so many lawsuits like this one. But each one is an individual suit, and each one is local with no national impact. They get virtually no publicity and no one nationally (i.e. the MSM) talks about the trend and prevalance of this type of suppression. Bushco obviously consideres these suits to be nuisance suits but well worth it as a cost of doing business. This is obvious because they keep doing it.

[saltpoint]

3. delete / misplaced post / where are my damn glasses?

[Vidar]

4. Good for the ACLU again.

[usregimechange]

5. They did this in Springfield mo as well, I was there.

[dalloway]

6. kick and recommended