Political demonstrations now allowed at Campus Martius

The City of Detroit agreed Wednesday to new rules allowing demonstrations at downtown's Campus Martius Park as part of a lawsuit filed earlier this year alleging free speech violations there.

Permits will not be required for up to 25 people at Campus Martius to hold demonstrations, collect petition signatures or pass out literature, under the new interim rules. At other city parks, up to 45 people can gather without a permit.

"These new rules represent a victory for the free speech rights of Detroiters," Brooke Tucker, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, said in a statement. "We're very pleased that the city of Detroit has acknowledged the fundamental right of people to gather and express themselves in public spaces and that it is working with us proactively to ensure that the right is respected throughout the city."

The ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit in January that said the private security company hired at Campus Martius violated visitors' constitutional rights by forbidding political activism. The lawsuit said security guards in February 2014 prevented activists with Moratorium Now! from handing out flyers about the city's bankruptcy and gathering petition signatures, threatening them with arrest.

During the incident, a Detroit police sergeant told the activists they would have to leave because the park's private management company made the rules and didn't want them demonstrating there, the suit said. The ACLU argued the activists' treatment was a violation of free speech because Campus Martius is a public park owned by the city.

The city's top lawyer, corporation counsel Melvin (Butch) Hollowell, said in a letter to the ACLU on March 26 that the city is committed to protecting First Amendment rights at all the city's parks, including Campus Martius. The city will establish and enforce policies that protect those rights, Hollowell wrote.

The new rules also provide an option for political demonstrations if the group exceeds the size limits. Detroit police officers are to issue an "instant permit" for larger groups as long as its activities are not likely to cause harm, impede traffic or interfere with other park events.

The ACLU said the new rules do not mean the lawsuit is dismissed. The organization plans to monitor the implementation and enforcement of the rules.

Campus Martius, at Woodward Avenue and Michigan Avenue, was overhauled more than 10 years ago to better serve as a central public space downtown. Several shops and restaurants have opened up around the park in recent years.

Since 2003, Detroit 300 Conservancy has managed and operated the park under a contract with the city. The conservancy hired Guardsmark security company to patrol the park and enforce its rules, according to the lawsuit.

Contact Joe Guillen: 313-222-6678 or jguillen@freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @joeguillen.