Federal court affirms limits on Inauguration Day protests

Federal court affirms limits on Inauguration Day protests, Washington Times, Andrea Noble, January 17, 2017

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In this Jan. 15, 2016, photo, the U.S. Capitol frames the backdrop over the stage during a rehearsal of President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington. Some two dozen House Democrats plan to boycott Trump’s inauguration on Friday

A federal appeals court on Tuesday shot down protesters’ challenge of regulations that allow Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration Committee first dibs on the location of bleachers along the Friday’s inaugural parade route.

As a result of the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the inauguration committee can keep set-aside bleacher seats in place at both Freedom Plaza and in front of the Trump International Hotel – locations protesters had sought to demonstrate in during Friday’s parade.

The decision is a blow to anti-war group Answer Coalition, which has challenged the National Park Services’ allocation of prime space along Pennsylvania Avenue to presidential inaugural committee’s since 2005. The group has argued that the reservation of swaths of Pennsylvania Avenue for the Presidential Inaugural Committee favors the incoming administration over the public and marginalizes and unfairly excludes dissent by preventing public access to what would otherwise be prime demonstration space.

But the court disagreed, finding that the regulations exclude the Answer Coalition “not because it seeks demonstrate, nor due to the content of the message ANSWER wishes to communicate, but to ensure some premium space for ‘ticketed bleachers viewing and access areas’ as part of the event package reserved for the Inaugural Committee.”

“The Park Service’s provision for the Inaugural Committee to construct its bleachers, even as 70 percent of the Inaugural route remains available for demonstration permits, is no more content based than the unchallenged provisions reserving areas for portable toilets, media stands, or viewing areas for individuals with disabilities,” wrote Judge Cornelia T. Pillard, in the 30-page ruling for the thee-judge panel.

Judges Patricia Millett and Sri Srinivasan joined Judge Pillard in the opinion.

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