A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld regulations that allow the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to set aside seating for supporters and to determine the location of demonstrations along the inaugural parade route Friday.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is a blow to free speech advocates who argued that the sidewalk in front of Trump’s luxury hotel and nearby Freedom Plaza should be wide open to protesters.
In a 30-page opinion, Judge Cornelia Pillard noted that at least 70 percent of the space along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route is available on a first-come, first-served basis to individuals and permitted groups, including the ANSWER Coalition, which brought the lawsuit.
The First Amendment requires that regulations leave “ample space for peaceful demonstrations,” said Pillard, who was joined by Judges Patricia Millett and Sri Srinivasan. “The First Amendment does not, however, support ANSWER’s claim of a right to displace spectator bleachers with its own demonstration at Freedom Plaza.”
In practical terms, the unanimous ruling from the three judges appointed by President Obama means that the president-elect’s inauguration committee can reserve space for supporters on the sidewalk in front of the Trump International Hotel and at Freedom Plaza.
But the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) has also received permits to stage a large-scale demonstration Friday at the Navy Memorial in the 700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and for a section of Freedom Plaza for up to 10,000 people, according to the National Park Service.
The case was filed long before Trump was elected and is the latest chapter in ongoing litigation over park service regulations that determine the location of Inauguration Day demonstrations.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee, a private entity, is controlled by the president-elect and responsible for planning most of the inaugural celebration activities, including selling tickets to watch the parade.
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the nonprofit Partnership for Civil Justice Fund who argued the case for ANSWER, said the decision amounts to the privatization of public space during one of the nation’s most significant political events for a partisan fundraising organization.
The court is “treating these locations along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route as if they are VIP ticket sales to a concert as opposed to recognizing the fundamental political nature of the overall event,” she said.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post ยท Ann E. Marimow
