U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock dismissed Carol Kreck’s free-speech lawsuit against the city and county of Denver on Thursday.
In 2008, Kreck was escorted out of the galleria outside the Denver Performing Arts Complex and cited for trespassing after a political town-hall meeting where Republican Sen. John McCain was appearing.
Kreck was holding a paper sign that read “McCain = Bush.” The lawsuit claimed her constitutional rights were violated by the city and Officer Matthew Canino.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously found in another case that the galleria was not a public forum.
That decision led Babcock to find that a reasonable person in the police officer’s position may not have known that banning protests during the political town-hall meeting could have violated Kreck’s rights. Kreck is a former Denver Post reporter. Felisa Cardona, The Denver Post
