Fear Tactics

On March 19th 2005, citizens opposed to war and U.S. occupation of foreign soil gathered in Chicago to peaceably assemble to demonstrate our disapproval of our government's policies. The efforts of the protest organizers were skillfully diffused by the police, who used fear and intimidation to refuse citizens their lawful rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

While Mayor Daley's administration routinely issues permits for much larger gatherings for corporate-sponsored parades down Michigan Avenue, requests to assemble and march down this symbolic street were again denied.

While this video illustrates the tactics used by law enforcement agencies to curtail your First Amendment rights, it also demonstrates the limits of the police's power to enforce law - in this case municipal law that prohibits gatherings without a permit. In this specific case, it is clear that those arrested were done so on the basis of this specific city ordinance, and, in cases where no specific ordinance is violated (demonstrating peaceably on other streets) the police were powerless to stop us. However, they effectively counteracted that by sheer intimidation, coming out in large force, complete with riot gear. One officer was overheard saying he could not wait to use his pepper spray on unruly demonstrators. But few demonstrators were unruly. In fact this march and rally has been organized as a peaceful event to exercise our First Amendment rights.

Some of us chose to resist the specific ordinance, and their arrests, while also unjust in the eyes of the First Amendment, could have been avoided while still engaging in peaceable protest of our government's policies. The point of this video is to show that while the police appear quite menacing, it is mostly a grand show, at our expense, designed to engender fear in those who choose to make their voice heard in protest of the status quo.

Do not be discouraged from making your voice heard by the tactics of fear employed by our police and mayor. With respect to peaceful protesters, they had only their grand show to put on for us, nothing more.

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