William Tell
09-11-2015, 08:10 AM
Arrested 'Impeach Obama' Advocate Sues for 1st Amendment Payday
'I'm doing this for other Americans,' says college senior.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/a52a60b/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F1d%2F36%2Ff25bf60a4cfe9bb445323 f11b150%2F150910-editorial.jpg
This photo from Daniel Martins shows friends protesting at the Long Island Expressway overpass on which he was arrested in June 2014. Martins says the signage was similar, but he was alone.
Amid honking from cars below, Daniel Martins was doing what he often did on Fridays, advocating for the impeachment of President Barack Obama from a pedestrian bridge over the Long Island Expressway.
On the sunny day last June, however, the Hofstra University student was confronted and arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal nuisance by Nassau County police who claimed his signs and flags might cause a car crash.
The criminal case was dismissed on free speech grounds in December and Martins now is seeking $2 million in a federal lawsuit, alleging the arrest was illegal and intended to stop his exercise of First Amendment-protected rights.
“It wasn’t a problem for anybody but the police,” says attorney Thomas Liotti, a two-time Obama voter representing Martins. “It wasn’t distracting. I don’t think anyone took much note of it because these things happen all the time in New York.”
Liotti says if flag burning and neo-Nazi parades are protected by the First Amendment, so, too, is Martins’ speech. “It’s free speech for everyone, that’s what we’re trying to support here,” he says.
The attorney sees the arrest as a clear constitutional violation worthy of swift redress, an opinion bolstered by Nassau District Court Judge Sharon Gianelli, who dismissed the criminal case against Martins.
“Defendant’s conduct is protected by the U.S. Constitution and therefore not criminal,” she ruled. “His conduct is akin to protestors on a sidewalk holding signs. ... They do it to get the attention of passersby, including drivers as well as pedestrians, in order to form support for their positions. If every protestor were arrested and hauled off to jail, that would run afoul of the rights and freedoms that we have fought for throughout our history and which define the very identity of our great union.”
Martins, who filmed the events leading to his arrest, tells U.S. News the lawsuit is about more than just money. The Students for Liberty member also is looking to punish those responsible for his arrest and affirm that such protests are protected by the Constitution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIZp2L57zlE
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/09/10/arrested-impeach-obama-advocate-sues-for-1st-amendment-payday
'I'm doing this for other Americans,' says college senior.
http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/a52a60b/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F1d%2F36%2Ff25bf60a4cfe9bb445323 f11b150%2F150910-editorial.jpg
This photo from Daniel Martins shows friends protesting at the Long Island Expressway overpass on which he was arrested in June 2014. Martins says the signage was similar, but he was alone.
Amid honking from cars below, Daniel Martins was doing what he often did on Fridays, advocating for the impeachment of President Barack Obama from a pedestrian bridge over the Long Island Expressway.
On the sunny day last June, however, the Hofstra University student was confronted and arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal nuisance by Nassau County police who claimed his signs and flags might cause a car crash.
The criminal case was dismissed on free speech grounds in December and Martins now is seeking $2 million in a federal lawsuit, alleging the arrest was illegal and intended to stop his exercise of First Amendment-protected rights.
“It wasn’t a problem for anybody but the police,” says attorney Thomas Liotti, a two-time Obama voter representing Martins. “It wasn’t distracting. I don’t think anyone took much note of it because these things happen all the time in New York.”
Liotti says if flag burning and neo-Nazi parades are protected by the First Amendment, so, too, is Martins’ speech. “It’s free speech for everyone, that’s what we’re trying to support here,” he says.
The attorney sees the arrest as a clear constitutional violation worthy of swift redress, an opinion bolstered by Nassau District Court Judge Sharon Gianelli, who dismissed the criminal case against Martins.
“Defendant’s conduct is protected by the U.S. Constitution and therefore not criminal,” she ruled. “His conduct is akin to protestors on a sidewalk holding signs. ... They do it to get the attention of passersby, including drivers as well as pedestrians, in order to form support for their positions. If every protestor were arrested and hauled off to jail, that would run afoul of the rights and freedoms that we have fought for throughout our history and which define the very identity of our great union.”
Martins, who filmed the events leading to his arrest, tells U.S. News the lawsuit is about more than just money. The Students for Liberty member also is looking to punish those responsible for his arrest and affirm that such protests are protected by the Constitution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIZp2L57zlE
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/09/10/arrested-impeach-obama-advocate-sues-for-1st-amendment-payday