Valli6
08-30-2017, 09:42 AM
Ensuring that there is no free press, either. :mad:
First Amendment activists protest restrictions on journalists at Boston ‘free speech’ rally
AP, August 27, 2017
BOSTON (AP) — Not everyone is happy with restrictions imposed during last weekend’s rally on the Boston Common.
During Saturday’s rally, a small group of conservative “free speech” activists were allowed to gather on a park bandstand. Boston police created a barrier to separate those participating in the rally from thousands of demonstrators who filled the common to protest racism and white supremacy.
Police also blocked reporters from approaching the bandstand to hear what those attending the rally were saying.
The New England First Amendment Coalition says those restrictions unreasonably interfered with the right of journalists to cover a story of public interest.
They say accommodations should have been made for close-up press coverage of the speakers as is usually done at public events.
City officials say they were trying to prevent violence.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2017/08/27/first-amendment-activists-protest-restrictions-on-journalists-at-boston-free-speech-rally
Not expecting any real support from the 'New England First Amendment Coalition' either, as their website suggests they're probably more interested in being anti-Trump, than actually protecting free speech. http://nefac.org
They did post the following on August 25. Sounds like they view the whole thing, not so much as a wrong, but as one of those "learning experiences". :rolleyes: On one hand, they rightly complain that reporters were prevented from covering the event, yet it's clear they have assumed the same "white supremacist" narrative as the rest of the media, so they are not open-minded people. Some of the links may be of interest to those looking for more info.
After Boston Common Protest, NEFAC Calls on City to Better Balance First Amendment Rights with Security Needs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Justin Silverman
The New England First Amendment Coalition believes certain restrictions in place during the recent Boston Common protest unreasonably interfered with the right of journalists to cover a story of immense public interest. The restrictions may have also violated the First Amendment right of Americans to express themselves in offensive, even hateful, ways.
Specifically, journalists should not have been banned from the Parkman Bandstand where a controversial rally occurred on Aug. 19 and accommodations should have been made for close-up press coverage of the speakers as is usually done at public events. In addition, comments made by city officials indicate an intent to use an unusually large buffer zone to prevent supporters of the rally from expressing offensive views.
NEFAC is calling on the City of Boston and its law enforcement leaders to revise their policies for future assemblies to better allow speech – however offensive – to be heard by the public, particularly by those in the media. The coalition provides several suggestions below that if followed would help protect First Amendment rights in Boston, an historic bastion of free speech, while also preserving the ability of police to prevent violence. In summary, those suggestions are:
• City officials should make reasonable accommodations for close-up media coverage of public events and should avoid outright media bans.
• Journalists should scrutinize all restrictions on press access and promptly challenge them when necessary.
• Any security measures imposed by the city should be for the sole purpose of preventing violence and not, even in part, to prevent certain messages from being shared.
More than 30,000 demonstrators assembled on the Common in response to the self-described “free speech” rally that at one point included speakers with white nationalist perspectives. This largely peaceful counter-demonstration occurred just a week after violence and death marred protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
To help prevent similar violence between the rally speakers and protesters in Boston, city officials created a barricaded buffer zone between the two groups. This area was about 40 yards wide and surrounded the Parkman Bandstand where the rally occurred. Police denied all journalists access to this buffer zone and the bandstand area.
Boston Police Department Commissioner William Evans later said this separation was intended in part to make it more difficult for additional speakers to join the rally. “That’s a good thing because their message isn’t what we want to hear,” The Boston Globe quoted Evans as saying.
Since the rally, additional context has been reported: Many of the 33 people arrested during the demonstrations are accused of acting violently or posing an imminent threat of violence. Rally organizers have acknowledged that despite being permitted to use a sound system, they did not bring one and could not amplify their voices beyond the buffer zone. And some journalists are now, in hindsight, reconsidering their acquiescence to a media ban announced two days prior to the rally.
This context is significant as it helps illustrate the city’s competing interests and the difficult constitutional balance between maintaining security and protecting First Amendment freedoms. As the national political climate remains divisive and tense, additional rallies and protests like those that occurred in Boston will likely be held elsewhere.
While NEFAC is pleased with the lack of violence in Boston, there are still lessons to be learned and changes that need to be made.
more: http://nefac.org/news/boston-common-protest-nefac-calls-city-better-balance-first-amendment-rights-security-needs/
ICYMI - This seems to be the only video of the actual rally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9X2ZRB9GCU
First Amendment activists protest restrictions on journalists at Boston ‘free speech’ rally
AP, August 27, 2017
BOSTON (AP) — Not everyone is happy with restrictions imposed during last weekend’s rally on the Boston Common.
During Saturday’s rally, a small group of conservative “free speech” activists were allowed to gather on a park bandstand. Boston police created a barrier to separate those participating in the rally from thousands of demonstrators who filled the common to protest racism and white supremacy.
Police also blocked reporters from approaching the bandstand to hear what those attending the rally were saying.
The New England First Amendment Coalition says those restrictions unreasonably interfered with the right of journalists to cover a story of public interest.
They say accommodations should have been made for close-up press coverage of the speakers as is usually done at public events.
City officials say they were trying to prevent violence.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2017/08/27/first-amendment-activists-protest-restrictions-on-journalists-at-boston-free-speech-rally
Not expecting any real support from the 'New England First Amendment Coalition' either, as their website suggests they're probably more interested in being anti-Trump, than actually protecting free speech. http://nefac.org
They did post the following on August 25. Sounds like they view the whole thing, not so much as a wrong, but as one of those "learning experiences". :rolleyes: On one hand, they rightly complain that reporters were prevented from covering the event, yet it's clear they have assumed the same "white supremacist" narrative as the rest of the media, so they are not open-minded people. Some of the links may be of interest to those looking for more info.
After Boston Common Protest, NEFAC Calls on City to Better Balance First Amendment Rights with Security Needs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Justin Silverman
The New England First Amendment Coalition believes certain restrictions in place during the recent Boston Common protest unreasonably interfered with the right of journalists to cover a story of immense public interest. The restrictions may have also violated the First Amendment right of Americans to express themselves in offensive, even hateful, ways.
Specifically, journalists should not have been banned from the Parkman Bandstand where a controversial rally occurred on Aug. 19 and accommodations should have been made for close-up press coverage of the speakers as is usually done at public events. In addition, comments made by city officials indicate an intent to use an unusually large buffer zone to prevent supporters of the rally from expressing offensive views.
NEFAC is calling on the City of Boston and its law enforcement leaders to revise their policies for future assemblies to better allow speech – however offensive – to be heard by the public, particularly by those in the media. The coalition provides several suggestions below that if followed would help protect First Amendment rights in Boston, an historic bastion of free speech, while also preserving the ability of police to prevent violence. In summary, those suggestions are:
• City officials should make reasonable accommodations for close-up media coverage of public events and should avoid outright media bans.
• Journalists should scrutinize all restrictions on press access and promptly challenge them when necessary.
• Any security measures imposed by the city should be for the sole purpose of preventing violence and not, even in part, to prevent certain messages from being shared.
More than 30,000 demonstrators assembled on the Common in response to the self-described “free speech” rally that at one point included speakers with white nationalist perspectives. This largely peaceful counter-demonstration occurred just a week after violence and death marred protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
To help prevent similar violence between the rally speakers and protesters in Boston, city officials created a barricaded buffer zone between the two groups. This area was about 40 yards wide and surrounded the Parkman Bandstand where the rally occurred. Police denied all journalists access to this buffer zone and the bandstand area.
Boston Police Department Commissioner William Evans later said this separation was intended in part to make it more difficult for additional speakers to join the rally. “That’s a good thing because their message isn’t what we want to hear,” The Boston Globe quoted Evans as saying.
Since the rally, additional context has been reported: Many of the 33 people arrested during the demonstrations are accused of acting violently or posing an imminent threat of violence. Rally organizers have acknowledged that despite being permitted to use a sound system, they did not bring one and could not amplify their voices beyond the buffer zone. And some journalists are now, in hindsight, reconsidering their acquiescence to a media ban announced two days prior to the rally.
This context is significant as it helps illustrate the city’s competing interests and the difficult constitutional balance between maintaining security and protecting First Amendment freedoms. As the national political climate remains divisive and tense, additional rallies and protests like those that occurred in Boston will likely be held elsewhere.
While NEFAC is pleased with the lack of violence in Boston, there are still lessons to be learned and changes that need to be made.
more: http://nefac.org/news/boston-common-protest-nefac-calls-city-better-balance-first-amendment-rights-security-needs/
ICYMI - This seems to be the only video of the actual rally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9X2ZRB9GCU