http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016775237_apusoc...

[…]

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed lawsuits - and in some instances, won temporary restraining orders - on behalf of Occupy activists in such places as Nashville, Oakland, Calif., and Trenton, N.J.

“There is no such thing as a beginning, middle and end to free speech rights,” said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero. “The right … doesn’t toll after a certain time period.”

Romero also said it’s hypocritical to try to limit the duration of protests “when we celebrate the occupation of Tahrir Square (the site of anti-government protests in Cairo). Certainly no one was citing the Egyptians for their overnight, multi-day protests. We ought not to criticize the Occupy movement for demonstrating their points of view with similar zeal.”

[…]

There also are restrictions in many places, such as requiring permits to march, assemble and speak, Zick said.

“Governments have the authority and the power to regulate things for public safety, traffic flow, sanitation,” Zick added. “None of these things have anything to do directly with freedom of speech. They regulate time of day, place and manner. You can limit the size of a protest … you can’t protest in the middle of Times Square whenever you like. There are a lot officials can do and a lot they do to regulate public protests.”

He also said there are legitimate concerns about violence breaking out in protests such as the anti-Wall Street demonstrations, such as those that occurred in Oakland.

“It’s a delicate balance,” he said. “It’s a difficult question that has to be decided locality by locality. But I think the calculus in some places has been `enough is enough.’”

Note Anonymiss: But it wasn’t decided locality by locality, was it? Homeland Security Coordinated 18-City Police Crackdown on Occupy Protest

National Coordination Goes Against Protection of Local Accountability

According to Oakland Mayor Jean said that 18 cities coordinated police crack downs on Occupy protests.

Wonkette reports that Homeland Security likely organized the crack downs:

Remember when people were freaking out over the Patriot Act and Homeland Security and all this other conveniently ready-to-go post-9/11 police state stuff, because it would obviously be just a matter of time before the whole apparatus was turned against non-Muslim Americans when they started getting complain-y about the social injustice and economic injustice and income inequality and endless recession and permanent unemployment? That day is now, and has been for some time. But it’s also now confirmed that it’s now, as some Justice Department official screwed up and admitted that the Department of Homeland Security coordinated the riot-cop raids on a dozen major #Occupy Wall Street demonstration camps nationwide yesterday and today. (Oh, and tonight, too: Seattle is being busted up by the riot cops right now, so be careful out there.)

 

Rick Ellis of the Minneapolis edition of Examiner.com has this, based on a “background conversation” he had with a Justice Department official on Monday night:

Over the past ten days, more than a dozen cities have moved to evict “Occupy” protesters from city parks and other public spaces. As was the case in last night’s move in New York City, each of the police actions shares a number of characteristics. And according to one Justice official, each of those actions was coordinated with help from Homeland Security, the FBI and other federal police agencies.

[...]

According to this official, in several recent conference calls and briefings, local police agencies were advised to seek a legal reason to evict residents of tent cities, focusing on zoning laws and existing curfew rules. Agencies were also advised to demonstrate a massive show of police force, including large numbers in riot gear. In particular, the FBI reportedly advised on press relations, with one presentation suggesting that any moves to evict protesters be coordinated for a time when the press was the least likely to be present.

***

(And for those who are understandably doubtful about Examiner.com as a news source, here’s an AP story from a couple hours ago that verifies everything except the specific mention of DHS coordination.)