Everyone has the right to assemble and protest in public spaces.
These rights are guaranteed under the First Amendment and are also protected by New Jersey’s state constitution. The freedoms to protest, organize, and peacefully demand change are critical to a functioning democracy, and serve as the bedrock for nearly every other form of freedom.
However, law enforcement officers do not always respect protected free-speech activity and may target protesters to thwart public expression.
In recent months, we received numerous accounts from several Cooper River Indivisible members, a Camden County organization, detailing how local police officers repeatedly issued traffic and criminal tickets to protesters and passers-by during lawful roadside rallies. Community members reported officers issuing tickets for things like honking and jaywalking during weekly Sunday afternoon protests – just for a few beeps with their car horn or crossing the street, conduct people routinely engage in without incident.
In response to these reports, we sent a letter to the Bellmawr Police Department, raising constitutional concerns about this alleged pattern of policing targeting people who are protesting and engaging in protected speech activity.
The letter urges the Bellmawr Police Department to investigate the conduct of its officers to ensure they are not engaged in unlawful policing practices. We emphasize in the letter that the responsibility of law enforcement is to protect and support those who exercise their free-speech rights, not punish them.
Sidewalks and streets are considered traditional public spaces. If officers are targeting participants and supporters of lawful protests with citations because they find the ideas being expressed offensive or disagreeable, they are interfering with constitutionally protected activities.
Challenges to the right to protest by law enforcement are not limited to issuing citations. In some cases, police target demonstrations through violent retaliation. We’ve witnessed this happen across the country and right here in New Jersey. Earlier this year, peaceful protestors outside Delaney Hall calling out the inhumanity of the Trump administration’s immigration detention and deportation system have been subjected to excessive force, with federal agents hitting people with batons, shoving someone in the path of an oncoming vehicle, and firing pepper balls and tear gas.
Elsewhere, law enforcement has attempted to limit expression by corralling protesters into so-called “free-speech zones.” And increasingly, new surveillance technologies have been turned on innocent people, collecting information on their activities by association with or proximity to a given protest.
The law is clear – everyone has the right to freely express their opinions and beliefs without censorship, retribution, or violence. Law enforcement has an obligation to follow the law, protect the people, and let people protest.
The ACLU of New Jersey has long defended the expressive rights of New Jerseyans, and we remain committed to protecting free-speech activities. It’s important for all of us to speak out against government tactics that target free expression to ensure that all residents are free to express their opinions.
Are you organizing or attending an upcoming protest? Curious to know more about your rights? Learn more about protesters’ rights here.
