The federal government was forced to back
off today, and concede The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime
a promised permit to rally outside the Capitol on Tuesday January 31.
Across the country that night, one hour before George Bush’s State of
the Union address, crowds will gather in public areas to politically
“drown out Bush’s lies”. Organizers had been told on January 10 they
would get a permit for the Reflecting Pool, an area close to the
Capitol; on January 19th, that area was suddenly declared a “special
security zone”, and off limits to the public. The World Can’t Wait
filed suit in federal district court yesterday seeking court protection
of First Amendment right to protest. This morning, after a story in the
Washington Post reported the suit, Park and police officials met
organizers at the contested area, and offered the Reflecting Pool as a
rally site.
Particularly at this moment, when the Bush
Regime seeks to vastly expand its power to spy on citizens (and is
brazenly doing so without court authorization) it’s up to the people to
refuse restrictions on public protest. To have quietly accepted the
terms the federal government attempted to enforce would have been a
disaster.
Join in bringing thousands to the Capitol on
Tuesday, 8pm, and get yourself to the National Mall on Saturday
February 4th, 11 am, as we demand “Bush Step Down!”
Click here for the Washington Post’s coverage of this permit battle.