DENVER—A federal judge said Wednesday that she won’t change security restrictions for protesters at the Democratic National Convention, concluding that the parade routes and demonstration zone established by the city don’t infringe on protesters’ free speech rights.
Judge Marcia S. Krieger’s ruling came in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of protest groups. They worried that the restrictions kept them away from being seen and heard by delegates attending the convention.
Krieger said the restrictions are content neutral and don’t affect the protesters’ ability to engage in expressive activities.
Protesters wanted to be allowed closer to the Pepsi Center during the convention, which starts Aug. 25, saying the arena should serve as a symbolic backdrop during their marches and demonstrations.
Krieger’s ruling did not address security at Invesco Field at Mile High, where Barack Obama is scheduled to give his acceptance speech Aug. 28, the final day of the convention. A hearing on those security measures is scheduled for Tuesday.
Mark Silverstein, legal director of ACLU-Colorado, said the groups were disappointed and plan to review the decision.
Barbara Cohen, an organizer with Recreate 68, one of the groups named in the suit, said they haven’t had a chance to review Krieger’s 71-page ruling.
United States Attorney Troy Eid praised the decision.
“The judge’s ruling honors the First Amendment while protecting the people of Colorado and our guests,” said Eid, whose office represented the Secret Service, the lead agency for convention security.
Krieger noted that the security plan is designed to protect attendees and the public from attacks involving explosives and weapons, prevent unlawful or violent protests, ensure emergency access and preserve orderly traffic around Denver.
Krieger said that the demonstration zone, dubbed the “freedom cage” by the protest groups, is designed to allow those inside to be seen and heard by convention delegates. Unlike the demonstration zone during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, where demonstrators were kept behind concrete barriers and outside the secured boundaries of the convention site, delegates will be within 200 feet of the demonstration zone during a portion of their walk to the Pepsi Center, Krieger said in her ruling.
There will be no obstructions between the demonstration zone and the delegates’ path to the Pepsi Center.
“Thus, any delegate wishing to approach the demonstrators may leave the sidewalk and walk directly to the edge of the buffer zone,” Krieger wrote in the ruling, acknowledging that most will probably arrive by bus.
Mayor John Hickenlooper said the city’s commitment to free speech has never wavered.
“It is gratifying to have the court recognize and uphold our efforts to promote numerous opportunities for public expression while simultaneously addressing genuine security and logistical issues,” he said in a written statement.
The 47,000-square foot zone, down slightly from earlier estimates, will have a set of concrete barriers topped by chain-link fencing on three sides. The fourth side will be open to pedestrians walking on Auraria Parkway, the main avenue south of the Pepsi Center. It will be open to the general public, not just protesters.
Those in the demonstration zone will be allowed to bring their own bullhorns and the city will set up a voice amplification system at the zone with speakers that will be pointed both inward toward the zone and outward to the delegates.
Leaflets from the protesters will be placed on tables along the sidewalk to the Pepsi Center.
Krieger also upheld the city’s decision to have protest marches end at Larimer Street, about 1,800 feet away from the Pepsi Center during the convention, and the denial of parade routes for marches Aug. 24, the day before the convention, on Chopper Circle, which passes next to the Pepsi Center.
Meanwhile, a protest group which had hoped to camp out at a large Denver park during the convention said they would instead spend nights in the Pepsi Center demonstration zone.
Tent State University organizer Adam Jung said that since protesters can’t afford hotel rooms, they will “feigning sleep” in the zone as a form of protest.
“It’s a new model, 24-hour protests,” he said, adding that the groups would like to thank the city “for providing the concrete” where they would stay every night.
Tent State, one of the group’s involved in the federal lawsuit, and other groups won a permit to use the 314-acre City Park but city officials have told them they won’t be allowed to camp overnight. The park, about three miles east of downtown, has an 11 p.m. curfew.
Denver City Councilwoman Carla Madison said the permit for the groups is at the southwest corner of the park from Sunday through Thursday the week of the convention.
She said the groups initially expected about 20,000 people each day but now estimate it will be up to 10,000.
Tent State and the other groups using the park have until Friday to submit their plans to the city on how they’ll handle trash removal, security, parking, and how they will provide water and portable toilets at the park.
At a news conference, organizers wore Colonial-era attire while a woman played songs on a flute. Next to Jung was a banner of an eagle in a cage and the phrase, “The Freest Cage of Them All.”
“They love freedom of speech so much, they just want to secure it with razor wire,” Jung said.
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Associated Press Writer Mary Hudetz contributed to this report.
