Today we have filed suit against NYC Mayor de Blasio.
This case seeks to protect and vindicate fundamental liberties that citizens of the United States enjoy free from government interference. These liberties are not conferred or granted by government to then be rescinded at the will and whims of government officials. These God-given liberties are possessed by the people, and they are guaranteed against government interference by the United States Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land. First among these liberties is the right to peacefully protest government officials through the freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble guaranteed by the First Amendment. 2.The right to freedom of speech is not a right to catharsis. It is a right to meaningfully protest and assemble in public in order to change public policy. The most effective way to exercise this right is to organize and participate in a large public protest. Defendants, through the adoption and enforcement of executive edicts, have suspended this fundamental right in the City of New York.
The right to freedom of speech is not a right to catharsis. It is a right to meaningfully protest and assemble in public in order to change public policy. The most effective way to exercise this right is to organize and participate in a large public protest. Defendants, through the adoption and enforcement of executive edicts, have suspended this fundamental right in the City of New York.
John Adams warned that “Liberty once lost is lost forever.” All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Through this Complaint, PlaintiffGeller challenges Defendants’ suspension of the First Amendment. There is no justification, pandemic or otherwise, for a government official to revoke this fundamental right of the people.4.Accordingly, this case seeks to protect and vindicate fundamental constitutional rights. It is a civil rights action brought under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging Defendants’ restriction on Plaintiff’s right to engage in peaceful protests and protected speech in public forums in the City of New York (hereinafter “First Amendment Restriction”).5.Plaintiff seeks a declaration that Defendants violated her clearly established constitutional rights as set forth in this Complaint; a declaration that Defendants’ First AmendmentRestriction violates the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as set forth in this Complaint; a preliminary and permanent injunction enjoining the enforcement of Defendants’ First Amendment Restriction as set forth in this Complaint; and nominal damages for the past loss of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. Plaintiff also seeks an award of reasonable costs of litigation, including attorneys’ fees and expenses, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and other applicable law.
Read the whole thing:
BREAKING NEWS: Lawsuit Filed Challenging N.Y. Mayor de Blasio’s Suspension of the First Amendment
By AFLC, May 7, 2020:
(New York – May 7, 2020) – Today, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), a national public interest law firm, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his police commissioner.
The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of political activist Pamela Geller, challenges Mayor de Blasio’s recent announcement that, pursuant to his executive orders, the First Amendment no longer applies in the City of New York as he has made it unlawful to peaceably assemble and protest.
Geller is an author, a conservative blogger, and champion for the First Amendment. In addition to successfully challenging government restrictions on free speech in New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Seattle, she was the organizer of the successful public protest of the Ground Zero mosque construction in Lower Manhattan.
But for Mayor de Blasio’s suspension of the First Amendment, Geller would organize and participate in a public protest of de Blasio’s policies, including the draconian restrictions he has imposed upon fundamental liberties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As alleged in the lawsuit:
“Public protests are an effective way to change public policy, particularly during this current COVID-19 pandemic. For example, shortly following a large public protest outside of the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, the Michigan Governor eased many of the restrictions that fueled the protest, realizing that her political power and future were in jeopardy as a result of her exceedingly unpopular decisions. Other similar protests have sprung up in major cities across the country. Through the First Amendment Restriction, Defendant de Blasio seeks to silence such opposition to his policies so that he can retain his political power over the City and its residents. Consequently, the First Amendment Restriction operates to suppress those viewpoints that oppose efforts by government officials, which specifically includes Defendant de Blasio’s efforts, to control people’s lives and restrict their liberty during the COVID-19 pandemic—a viewpoint shared by Plaintiff Geller.”
AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Davis Yerushalmi commented:
“Our natural political liberties, enshrined and protected by the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, do not go on vacation or in hiding or on lock-down during times of crisis. Government has a role to play in protecting the public health to be sure. But when it exercises this authority, granted by the People, it must act surgically and most carefully when restricting our protected civil liberties—Freedom of Speech and Assembly, first among all. It is high time Mayor de Blasio and his police commissioner understand that they do not rule by mere fiat.”
AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel Robert Muise added:
“Too many leftwing, progressive politicians like Mayor de Blasio see this current pandemic as an opportunity to impose draconian restrictions on fundamental rights and liberty. Mayor de Blasio’s latest effort to suspend the First Amendment in the City of New York is one of the most egregious restrictions we have seen. It is unfathomable that a government official’s thirst for power would go this far. He needs to be stopped, and we intend to do so.”
Geller vs. De Blasio: Lawsu… by Pamela Geller on Scribd