By MigraineMan
It turns out the sidewalk in front of United States Supreme Court building isn’t really a free-speech zone. I was promptly banished to the other side of the street yesterday because my flag and flagpole were classified as “a sign” by Officer ByTheBook and his sidekick Officer JustDoinMyJob of the Supreme Court Police. Apparently it was too tall. And yes, the SCOTUS has its own police force.
I adjusted the flagpole down to the maximum six-foot height…and it then became “made of unapproved materials.” It can only be cardboard or wood, not exceeding 3/4” thickness in order to be permissible on the SCOTUS sidewalk.
I offered to dismount the flag and hand carry it…but it still would have exceeded the maximum 4-foot dimension (it was a standard 3×5 flag.) Since it was just me, Dick Heller, and one gent from Maryland Shall Issue, it didn’t seem like a hill to die on.
Regardless, it was somewhat fortuitous that we set up where we did across the street (under the jurisdiction of the US Capitol Police.) The single busload of Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown Moms declined to enter enemy territory, so we had ample space to establish an unobstructed display in support of the US Constitution.
The prohibitionists even mentioned us during their “rally,” which was more like a bad sermon delivered by scripted shills. One speaker would claim “we don’t oppose the Second Amendment” which was promptly followed by another one who wanted the Second Amendment abolished.
It was amusingly ironic to watch the oh-so-tolerant liberals swarm to cover-up a sign that said “Constitution and Bill of Rights Matter.”
Still, it was a good day on the bricks for actual grass-roots political involvement. Mike’s astroturf warriors all seemed to leave about halfway through the oral arguments; only a handful remained toward noon.
“I am angry that this is the second time in 2 years that I have addressed a crowd in front of this court because of the gun lobby’s never ending assault on gun violence prevention laws.” –@AalayahEastmond #gunlawssavelives pic.twitter.com/2VFEf4Ws0E
— Team ENOUGH (@Team_Enough) November 3, 2021
We, however, stayed for the duration and had plenty of time to chat off-camera with the reporters who were waiting for comments from the litigants.
Eventually we moved in to occupy the prime real estate in front of SCOTUS, and we spoke with NBC, CBS, FoxNews, RT, and several bureau reporters.
Conversations extended well beyond the interviews, and we’ve been able to find variations on these images included in MSM stories across the nation. It’s encouraging that we weren’t excluded in their reporting.
Now we wait for the decision….
MigraineMan is just an everyday guy who participates in support of the US Constitution through The Patriot Picket, and who hopes to live up to the example set by Patriot Picket founder, Jeff Hulbert.
“liberals swarm to cover-up a sign that said ‘Constitution and Bill of Rights Matter.’”
precociously imitating their owners, in the left’s mind, they – they themselves – are the constitution.
OMG…Their signs went from Gun Control to Gun Laws…Apparently what’s her face from BAWN reads this forum or my congressman sends my sentiments to democRats per my request…It used to be “congressmen” but one went all Romney Rino.
Nonetheless they are not sayin’ Gun Laws unless someone defined Gun Control for them. And I damned sure have and I ain’t going to stop.
I wish I could afford my own private police force to do my bidding. I should have become a lawyer, then a judge.
Become Speaker of the House and then you will have sole and absolute control over the Capitol Police, and the Gitmo-On-The-Potomac.
I don’t understand how the First Amendment right to free speech does not apply on the sidewalk outside of the U.S. Supreme Court.
You’ve got free speech, you’ve just gotta say what they want you to say.
its does apply. I can understand where you got that impression ’cause the article wording makes it seem like they were being ‘persecuted’ for exercising free speech and they weren’t. Its the only thing with the article I didn’t like and thought the wording and grammar construction at that point seemed a little disingenuously manipulative of the narrative to give that impression.
had they contacted the court ahead of time they would have known the rules. I’ll bet the “Everytown Moms” group moms knew the rules.
.40 cal Booger,
I got a pretty good sense of the “rules” from the article. The fact that the rules are unnecessarily limiting is the huge problem.
Why can’t they demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building? Court employees (including the Justices) do not use that front entrance and demonstrations out front would not hinder the Court’s operation nor proceedings.
Why can’t they wave a flag which is larger than 4 feet in dimension? Why does their flag staff have to be so short? Why do their signs have to be tiny?
Such excessive restrictions are unnecessary and unjustified–every bit as unjustified as the U.S. Supreme Court declaring that people of the United States cannot use anything larger in size than a .177 caliber CO2-powered pellet pistol for self-defense.
“Why can’t they demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building?”
They can, if they meet the requirements.
“Why can’t they wave a flag which is larger than 4 feet in dimension?”
because in a crowd people are closer and when the wind blows a larger flag is more prone to whip around with enough force that if its edges hit someone in the face it could cause lacerations.
“Why do their signs have to be tiny?”
because signs larger than the limit are more unsightly and noticeable looking more trashy when they are left behind after a demonstration. Not everyone picks up after them selves after a demonstration or protest.
Additionally…
“I was promptly banished to the other side of the street yesterday because my flag and flagpole were classified as “a sign” by Officer ByTheBook and his sidekick Officer JustDoinMyJob of the Supreme Court Police. Apparently it was too tall. And yes, the SCOTUS has its own police force.
I adjusted the flagpole down to the maximum six-foot height…and it then became “made of unapproved materials.” It can only be cardboard or wood, not exceeding 3/4” thickness in order to be permissible on the SCOTUS sidewalk.”
yes, being over six feet high makes it a “sign” but not because it is but rather because its above “head height” of others. The place is a free speech zone for everyone not just you, and that means equal footing for everyone. If they had some people with flags that high they would grab more attention. Its a thing that if the signs of one side grabs more attention than the other sides signs there is (possibly, depending on the people and the protest//demonstration) gonna be some interpersonal conflict between the sides – that happens in political and emotionally charged issues like this second amendment thing. Its a real thing in protests/demonstrations.
Yes, “cardboard or wood, not exceeding 3/4” thickness in order” is the requirement because, once again not everyone picks up after them selves after a protest/demonstration so this stuff may need to be picked up and disposed of and cardboard or wood are recyclable and easier to dispose of plus they are still strong enough for signs meeting the requirements usage if needed. The thickness requirement is because its less likely those sizes would be used as club weapons against other demonstrators/protestors that could cause serious injury with a single blow yet can still be useful in that size and material to hold signs meeting the requirements.
they are blanket rules applied to everyone in the same area for any protest/demonstration.
The simple fact that there are places and/or times where/when display of the U.S. flag is not permitted (at ANY size), points out the extent of the systemic rot in our society and the level of corruption in our government.
I am saddened at the utter loss of the culture – and the country – that I knew when I was growing up. The Founding Fathers would be appalled at what we’ve allowed this once-great nation to devolve into…
I’ll just leave this here…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkKb4Zt48x8
Am I the only one who can’t listen to this song without literally crying over what we’ve lost thanks to the leftists and Karens?
Just so you know I’m not fabricating the interaction, allow me to direct you to the same text Officer ByTheBook cited me from his spiral-bound pad. Regulation Six –
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/buildingregulations.aspx
He went down the list, one by one. I noted that I had a flag, and not a sign … specifically the United States Flag … just like the two flying on the 20-foot poles behind him. Didn’t matter. “Nope, they’re signs. You can’t have them here.” On the public sidewalk? “This is Supreme Court jurisdiction. You can go across the street where it’s Capitol Police, and they allow it there.” I was then notified that if I failed to comply (by leaving) I would be subject to arrest.
and finish reading what I wrote.
If you mean the flags off to the left looking at the building front:
Those flags were authorized, ultimately, by an act of congress to be there. Yours were not.
Those flags are not “moveable” in the sense of being hand carried while they are on their poles.
No, your flag was not like those “flying on the 20-foot poles behind him.”.
Yep, it is a public sidewalk and they have some rules for protesting/demonstrating there. The key word here is “public”, meaning everyone and not just you. protests/demonstrations being their own issues, some of which I mentioned above so they have these rules to keep things tidy/organized/safe so that the “public” meaning everyone will be on equal footing to exercise their first amendment rights too in a protest/demonstration in that area. Just because they say “no” it does not mean its an infringement of your first amendment rights.
If it were me, and my job was to enforce the rules, I would have told you the same thing they did. Its what the “public” would be paying me to do.
I know you are not fabricating it, never thought you were. I’ve been there.
Oh, and you could have displayed your flag too. There was no prohibition on displaying the flag as long as it met the requirements. It just needed to be smaller that’s all. Next time go prepared and you will not have a problem.
You are not much of a man or woman huh? So if they tell you it’s illegal to do something you find necessary that isn’t harmful to someone else it’s ok?
The MSM seemed so polite and are now laughing at you over cocktails in Georgetown. Why? Because they are so superior to the hayseeds at the rally.
Roger D,
Your comment about “hayseeds” is inspiring.
When I moved to Pennsylvania from NJ, my pseudo-intellectual, leftist-socialist family reveled in making fun of the “hick, baseball cap, bumpkin culture” I had joined. But I loved the county-fairs, the farmers markets, the hokey crafts, the Amish and Mennonite simplicity, and the agricultural roots.
“Yup, I’m turning into a hick” I would tell them. “Oh, and, by the way, don’t forget, I have more letters after my name , by far, than anyone else in our extended family. So, while you are feeling superior in your insulated effete, high-tax, low freedom state, I am gobbling up wet shoo-fly pie, drinking in the smell of freshly planted fields, and learning to imitate a Pennsylvania-Dutch accent”.
Nowadays, I am fighting to keep those leftards from taking over the Commonwealth.
I’ve always been a hayseed. A hick, a dirthead, whatever. Proud of it. And I’m better educated (by degree and self-inclination) than 99% of the self-anointed cognoscenti who think it’s their right to rule over me. And in my huge, extended Mormon family, I’m in no way unusual. There are a lot more of us out here than the progtards think.
Of course SCOTUS has its own police force. So does the IRS, and the NEA, and even the U.S. Post Office. Because reasons.
FDA, USDA,
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Department of Education,
Department of Energy,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
US Postal Service (USPS),
and more….all have SWAT teams.
A super account of a day on the front lines in the fight to preserve our Constitutional rights from the assault of a well-meaning but woefully misguided group of individuals. Thanks for fighting the fight Migraine Man!
The first three paragraphs…that’s the current state of this country in a nutshell. Rights, my ass…
I was there two days ago and I was there two years ago for the other NYSRPA case and can provide pictures of the same flags being toted on the SCOTUS side of the street with nary a peep being uttered from any of the LEOs on duty.
And can definitively say that any signs left behind were pre-printed and paid for by Bloomberg/Soros.
Great write up MM!
.40 cal Boog, you’re not justifying 1A infringements with “[potential] trash needs to be convenient to pick up and recycle,” are you?
Nope, not at all. How you missed that I was just giving the reasons behind the restrictions is puzzling.
I’m just going to say this then drop it:
You weren’t silenced, you weren’t kept from exercising 1A – you were just restricted on size and material or height of a few physical things and either would not or could not meet those requirements that you should have known about before you went. And according to your article you did indeed exercise your first amendment rights and look at that big sign too in one of your own article pics. Your own article pics and wording says 1A rights were exercised but you are trying to say they weren’t because they were infringed because of some restrictions on size, material, and height – its a contradiction I’m having problems with because limiting size and materials or height of something physical for a demonstration is not an infringement of first amendment rights.
As someone who has planned and help plan many organized demonstrations let me give you a key tip for a successful demonstration; If you are going to have an organized demonstration one of the first things you do is plan and part of that planning is knowing about any restrictions and that’s on you.
Your article basically shows that 1A rights are being exercised all over the place there in front of SCOTUS and not in front of SCOTUS.
Look, I get it. You are really upset about that flag and the restrictions but because they said “no” on some things due to some restrictions on materials or size for that specific spot does not mean your first amendment rights were actually infringed. Next time plan.
If you really feel this strongly about it, if you truly believe you were infringed, then get an attorney from one of the many places that will take a 1A case and take it to court.
Free Speech is not free. You have to be willing to fight to keep it free.
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