Pricing out dissent
An event by the Illinois Minuteman Project scheduled for Saturday has been canceled after the Crystal Lake Police Department demanded a $3,500 payment for security costs from the hotel where the event was to be held.
Regardless of how one feels about the Minutemen, the request by the police department is inappropriate. The Minutemen were planning to hold a private event on private property at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake. The supposed security need was for protesters – the McHenry County Peace Group – who were going to be on public property near the event.
On Thursday, a McHenry County judge ruled the Minutemen had violated their contract with the Holiday Inn because they had misrepresented themselves and did not provide proof of insurance. That was wrong and the Holiday Inn had every right to nullify the contract. However, the behavior of the Crystal Lake Police Department is a separate issue and one that deserves comment.The stated reason for the security cost was that the peace group was going to be protesting the Minutemen along a busy road and therefore officers would be needed. That protest should not have been the responsibility of the Minutemen. Nor should it have been the financial responsibility of the Holiday Inn. Neither entity had any involvement in the peace group’s plans.
If this line of thought is taken further, local police departments essentially could stifle the rights of any group to assemble and speak freely simply by charging large fees for security because of the prospect of protesters. That comes too close to stifling the First Amendment for us.
http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/08/24/opinion/editorials/doc46ce888e13d52136244348.txt