Three Baltimore Activists Unlawfully Arrested for Peaceful, Legal Protest

On Friday, October 12, 2007 at approximately 7:30 PM, three animal rights activists were arrested by the Baltimore City Police during a peaceful and legal demonstration at Salt Tavern (2127 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland). The activists, who are all members of the Baltimore Animal Rights Coalition (BARC), have been holding weekly demonstrations at Salt Tavern to protest the restaurant's practice of serving foie gras, a so-called "delicacy" which is obtained by force-feeding ducks &geese. These demonstrations involve nothing more than group members standing on the edge of the sidewalk, holding signs and passing out leaflets, typically for one to two hours once a week.

I've been actively involved with BARC for a few years, so I can provide some background information about the current situation. Salt Tavern has tried to position itself as a very upscale dining establishment, and there is no doubt that they do not like having protesters standing in front of their restaurant during the busy Friday dinner hour. Each week, the manager of Salt calls the cops as soon as she sees protesters outside of her restaurant, and each week, the Baltimore Police dutifully respond by sending numerous squad cars to our protest.

On October 5, 2007, two Baltimore police officers showed up at a Salt Tavern protest, demanding that BARC produce a permit that said we were allowed to protest. BARC was under the impression that no permit was needed, but group members decided to look into the issue and agreed to move across the street for the evening's demo until the permit issue could be decided. Over the next week, numerous BARC members sprang into action, consulting private attorneys, the Baltimore City Permit Office, and even the Maryland office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Every qualified person we spoke with gave us the exact same answer: you do not need a permit to engage in constitutionally-protected free speech activities in the city of Baltimore.

After spending a week researching the issue, and being told by Baltimore's very own permit office that we did not need a permit, we decided we were within our legal rights to protest in front of Salt Tavern, so BARC returned to protest at 7:00 PM on Friday, October 12, 2007. Within minutes of arriving, the manager was on the phone with the police, and a few minutes after that, the small city block was swarming with squad cars and uniformed cops.

I was the appointed "police liaison" for the evening's demo, so it was my job to try to talk with the police and diffuse the situation. As soon as the officers arrived, they became very hostile, and immediately one of them informed us we needed a permit. I explained that we had tried to obtain a permit and were told by the city of Baltimore that we did not need one, but they didn't seem to care. We debated the permit issue for a few minutes, then the cops went off and formed a little "huddle" for a few minutes. After returning from the huddle, all of a sudden the issue was no longer needing a permit, but the fact that we were "loitering" in front of a liquor establishment (the restaurant we are protesting has a liquor license).

It soon became apparent that the Baltimore Police weren't actually interested in enforcing the law-they were interested in appeasing the management of Salt Tavern by getting us away from the restaurant using whatever means necessary. One of the members of BARC is a public defender, and he actually had a copy of the loitering statute that they officers were trying to use against us. Even after he clearly showed the cops how the statute does NOT apply to protest activity, they continued to try to make us move and began to threaten arrest if people did not comply.

At that point, most of the members of BARC crossed the street to avoid arrest. However, three brave activists stood their ground and asserted their legal rights, and they were promptly handcuffed and arrested by the Baltimore Police. Currently, the activists are being processed at the Central Booking station in Baltimore-their friends and family on the outside are eagerly awaiting news of their release.

So why should anyone care about a few kids who got arrested in Baltimore? Because this case is indicative of the harassment and intimidation that activists routinely suffer at the hands of the Baltimore police. I know that "animal rights" is a hot button issue, and that not everyone sees eye-to-eye when it comes to foie gras. But this country was founded on certain principles, one of which is the right for anyone to express whatever opinion they want without government oppression. People have been protesting from the very birth of our nation-it is one of the very things that makes America "the land of the free."

Requiring groups to have permits in order to protest is unconstitutional. Obtaining permits takes resources, mainly time and money, which small groups may not necessarily have. Permit laws tend to limit free expression only to large, well-organized groups that have the money to go through the permitting process, shutting out individuals and grassroots groups that do not have the same resources. Indeed, high courts all over the country are overturning restrictive permitting laws because of these very issues.

Using loitering laws to arrest activists is even more heinous. These laws were designed to keep pedestrian traffic flowing and discourage drug activity, not to arrest small groups of people exercising their First Amendment rights. As I stated earlier, I believe that the Baltimore Police were determined to get BARC away from Salt Tavern, and when they saw that we had tried to get a permit but were told we didn't need one, they needed another "technicality" to threaten us with.

Tonight, I lost quite a bit of faith in the Baltimore police. What started as a quiet, peaceful evening standing on a sidewalk and holding a sign ended up with three of my best friends being arrested for standing up for their rights. After again consulting with the ACLU and a private attorney, I have no doubt that BARC did nothing wrong and no charges will be filed against the arrested activists. However, I can't help but wonder how many other groups/individuals have had their free speech rights violated and didn't have the resources to defend themselves.

Regardless of how you feel about animal rights, free speech is an issue that EVERYONE should care about. In Baltimore, it seems the police are more interested in protecting corporate interests than they are in protecting people's First Amendment rights. If you would like to help the arrested activists, please contact Sergeant Stuart of the Baltimore Police Department, who ordered the arrests that occurred this evening. Let Sergeant Stuart know that the Baltimore police shouldn't be arresting peaceful protesters, and ask him to hold his department accountable for violations of individuals' free speech rights. Sergeant Stuart (Badge #3981) of the Baltimore City Police can be reached by calling (410) 396-2422.

For more information about BARC's campaign against foie gras in the city of Baltimore, please visit http://www.DoNotEatHere.org