Simply put any person, who in the execution of their First Amendment rights, participates in any form of verbal or written political discourse (outside of threatening the life of anyone) has been afforded the highest degree of protection from our federal judicial system. This man was holding a political poster, regardless of its contents, was NOT harming anybody, and refrained from even obscenity with it.
Regarding "Congress shall make no law...", that clause also applies to any state or locality due to another fun clause in the United States Constitution called the Supremacy Clause. Outside of several high profile Supreme Court cases that deal with the general welfare, fighting words, and hate speech, the states, parishes, counties, cities and towns do NOT have the right to abridge our First Amendment rights. The man has clearly had his right to assemble peaceably and freedom of speech violated in this instance. If Congress can not pass a law abridging these, and via the supremacy clause states and localities cannot, then the police arresting him have violated the most fundamental politic rights that man possesses. If it's not constitutional to legally abridge those rights, then it is not legal to forcibly abridge them. Not really that large of mental leap, I promise.
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Originally posted by clavus
To say that I was naked, when I broke in would be a lie. I put on safety glasses.
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