Demand Constitutional Rights for Activists
- by: Gather Films and Americans for Free Speech
- recipient: Los Angeles government decision makers
The Free Speech 8 are eight activists in Los Angeles who are being prosecuted for exercising their first amendment right to free speech. They need your help.
After learning that primates kept in UCLA laboratories were enduring cruel experiments, these compassionate volunteers began peacefully demonstrating in the neighborhoods of the vivisectors (animal experimenters). Although these protests carried on every month for years without incident, on May 15, 2010, the activists were arrested without being told the cause of their own arrest. They were later charged with "focused picketing" and noise violations, despite the activists using the same perfectly legal tactics every month for years within view of law enforcement officers, who previously deemed their activity protected by the Constitution, and therefore legal.
Please ask Los Angeles law enforcement officials to drop the charges against the Free Speech 8, and protect all Americans' right to free speech, by signing the petition below.
For more information on the Free Speech 8, see this video: http://vimeo.com/28777156
At a time when budget cuts are creating a "threat to public safety" in the city of Los Angeles (http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/20/local/la-me-0120-city-attorney-20110120), I'm disturbed to discover that the City Attorney's office is prosecuting “The Free Speech 8.” These law-abiding citizens did nothing more than engage in First Amendment protected protest activity, fully in compliance with federal and state law, as well as all relevant Los Angeles city ordinances. In fact, UCLA and LAPD police officers monitoring the events affirmatively told the volunteers on multiple occasions that their conduct was lawful and constitutionally protected. Only later were charges brought for the very activities officers had for years sanctioned on the scene. Please take a look at this video: http://vimeo.com/28777156.
It seems that Deputy City Attorney Spencer Hart is pursuing this case in order to protect the interests of vivisectors at UCLA over the firmly established constitutional rights of other Los Angeles city residents. Considering Los Angeles' notorious budget problems, I am appalled that the city is spending tens of thousands of dollars to prosecute peaceful volunteers exercising their first amendment rights, rather than protecting the public from actual threats to their safety.
Regardless of whether you agree with the The Free Speech 8, you certainly can agree that they have a right to lawful free speech, including a right to lawfully protest, which is exactly what they were doing.
The citizens of Los Angeles and the citizens of the United States are watching this case. Please help protect all of our constitutional rights by dismissing the charges against the Free Speech 8.
The trial is set to begin on December 5, 2011. It's Case # 0CA01276.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.