City Council Majority Leader Terrence M. Hassett today reacted to the protester registration form and public viewing areas established by the City in advance of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting, which begins Friday. Calling the measures “absurd,” Hassett said he hopes that amid the outcry against the new rules, Mayor Cicilline and emergency management chief Peter Gaynor will reconsider.   

Hassett stated that, “As the chief of police noted in the Journal yesterday, the City has dealt with protests and pickets before; the department is fully prepared to handle the crowds, and will not need ‘to enlist other local  police departments, the state police or the National Guard to assist in policing the event.’” The councilman added that, “The City should use standard practices to protect the public’s safety, instead of resorting to draconian policies that discourage free speech and public participation.”

The City posted the “Protestor Registration Form” and the “Public Viewing Guidelines” on its website Tuesday. Since then, Hassett said, he has received a flurry of phone calls from community groups and individuals, worried that constitutional rights were being threatened. “This policy sends the wrong message to those who want to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Hassett said.

Most alarming, Hassett observed, is the provision in the public viewing guidelines that states that, “bags and backpacks are subject to search.” Hassett stated that, “The provision apparently applies to all protesters and protest groups. I wonder if the bags and backpacks of all conference participants also will be subject to search.

“At any rate,” Hassett continued, “why would the personal belongings of individuals assembling on a sidewalk or public right of way be subject to search unless there is cause? The threshold should be no different for a protester than it is for a pedestrian or any other citizen.”

Hassett will be asking the Mayor and the emergency management director to remove the registration forms from the website, and suspending the policy until there is a full review and public vetting.