The ACLU of Pennsylvania recently sent a letter to Mayor Kenney today, June 15, 2016, regarding its concerns involving ongoing discussions, formal and informal, between City officials and about the marches, rallies and other events scheduled to occur during the Democratic Convention. The ACLU of Pennsylvania has been meeting with City of Philadelphia officials, both formally and informally. Here is the opening two paragraphs of that letter:

I spoke with Mary Catherine Roper, Esq., Deputy Legal Director for the ACLU - PA, about the letter and the reasons why the ACLU of Pennsylvania felt it was necessary to send it to Mayor Kenny with a list of their complaints and concerns regarding the planned protests, marches, rallies and other events that will take place concurrently with the Democratic National Convention. As she explained to me, the overarching concern that the ACLU of PA has with the City is the conflicting messages it has received from Philadelphia officials about how the thousands of people coming to peacefully protest the Democratic National Convention will be treated by city government and the police.

In brief, here are the ACLU of Pennsylvania's principal issues with Mayor Kenny and city government:

The Risk of a Police Crackdown on Peaceful Protesters.

In the past, according to Ms. Roper, Philadelphia police have not made it a habit to crackdown on peaceful demonstrators at rallies or marches, even when the group or individuals involved did not have a permit. The ACLU was told in meetings with City officials that the police would not deviate from this longstanding practice, and would not "interfere with the right to protest anymore than necessary to protect public safety and local business."

However, when the ACLU asked for written confirmation from the City Law Department that police would not ...

"... declare any march or protest "unlawful" and order protesters to disperse solely because of a lack of a permit, and that Philadelphia police would only halt, try to redirect, or order dispersal of groups that create an unmanageable obstruction of traffic, obstruct access to buildings, or otherwise engage in illegal conduct. The City Law Department was unwilling to commit to this position, and instead stated that the City's position is that "permits are required for demonstrations, protests and rallies (this ensures that appropriate resources can be made available so that those exercising their first amendment rights can do so safely)."

In other words, forget past practice regarding treatment of un-permitted protests. City officials said one thing to to ACLU representative verbally, but when the City was asked to put those assurances in writing, the ACLU were told go take a 'long walk off a short pier.' Earlier promises that the police will not disrupt or arrest peaceful protesters, despite their longstanding practice of leaving such people alone, whether they had a permit or not, were retracted and rejected by the City's lawyers.

And, as Deputy Legal Director Roper emphasized, this is compounded by the City's refusal to clarify their position on issuing ore permits. In particular, the ACLU was concerned about the outright refusal to issue permits for marches down Broad Street, the street that has been used historically for protest marches.

[T]he Law Department recently told us that "the City does not intend to issue any permits for marches down Broad Street" during the DNC. This is in stark contrast to our earlier conversations about Broad St., in which City officials led us to expect temporary lane closures and barriers on Broad St. south of City Hall, but not that Broad St-which has traditionally been one of the most used march routes for Philadelphia demonstrations-would be completely off-limits to protesters. Please clarify whether the City will be issuing any permits for marches and demonstrations on Broad Street and, if so, under what conditions and constraints.

The same issue applies to marches planned in Center City where the City Law Department stated to the ACLU that:

[T]he City does not intend to issue any permits for marches during rush hour in Center City. Rush hour is considered 7 AM -9 AM and 3 PM -6 PM, Monday through Friday." The City's restrictions on protest permits in Center City are particularly concerning when combined with the City's unwillingness to state publicly that it will not seek to punish protesters merely for protesting without a permit. Please clarify whether the City will issue any permits for demonstrations within Center City during rush hour, and if so, under what conditions and constraints.

The ACLU was also informed that going forward all communications about these matters should only go through the City Law Department, and that further direct contact with other officials are now strictly verboten.

Beginning to see a pattern here? It is almost as if someone got to city officials and told them to stop all cooperation with the groups planning marches, rallies, protests and other events. Either that, or we must assume that the earlier statements made by City officials that they would cooperate and allow such marches and protests, with or without permits, were falsehoods they made knowingly. If you have another hypothesis as to why this sudden change of heart by the City occurred, I'd love to hear it.

Then there is the issue of the demonstrators being allowed to remain in FDR Park past the 1 am curfew. Once again, City officials promised one thing:

Removing protesters from FDR Park at night. In meetings, Police Department officials have told us that they will not expend resources to clear FDR Park at night.

But, now, however in my humble opinion, they are saying that all rules, restrictions and regulations regarding FDR park, including a 1 AM curfew "will remain effective during the convention." In effect, I believe the message they intended to deliver to everyone is that violent crackdowns of people who "occupy" FDR park after 1:00 am, because they have nowhere else to go, "are not off the table."

What follows is my translation of this bit of legalese: the City of Philadelphia reserves the right to send police into the park and use whatever force necessary (likely excessive force) to clear it of anyone there, including mass arrests, as we saw at the RNC convention in New York in 2004. Considering the thousands of people coming to Philadelphia, the lack of hotel rooms to accommodate everyone - I know for a fact that many Sanders' delegates are having difficulty finding a place to stay - and that these people will provide a monetary benefit the local economy during their stay, this is deeply disturbing, to say the least.

Other issues raised by the ACLU's letter to the mayor include the following:

- The City's proposed use of Pennsylvania State Police and other non-City law enforcement. If employed as additional security there are significant questions as to whether these other law enforcement agencies would be bound to follow the orders, policies or procedures of the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD), "such as the PPD policy against infiltration of protestor groups, or PPD policies restricting officers' interference with civilians' attempts to record or photograph the police."

- The nature of the "Enclosure" around FDR Park. The ACLU has concerns about the security fencing/wall and whether it will constructed so as to prevent the voices of protesters from being heard or seen by delegates to the DNC convention at the Wells Fargo Center.

- The issue of camping in other city parks and public places. In light of the Law Department's statement that all "rules and regulations" will remain effective as to FDR park, there is also a concern about how people who camp elsewhere will be treated by the police.

Let me close with the final paragraph of the ACLU's letter to Mayor Kenney signed by Deputy Director Mary Catherine Roper, as I feel it expresses the feeling of many of us that dissent should not not be stifled or suppressed by the government in a country that guarantees freedom of speech and peaceable assembly to all in the First Amendment to our federal constitution:

The Convention will be an important opportunity for you and City officials to showcase our beautiful city. We ask for your leadership in ensuring that Philadelphia lives up to its reputation as the birthplace of liberty in America. At a time when our city will be draped in red, white, and blue and on display for the world, we urge you to keep in mind that there is perhaps nothing more patriotic and American than dissent. We hope you will work with us to ensure that as many protesters as possible can have their voices heard in Philadelphia during the DNC.

Thank you ACLU of Pennsylvania for standing up for the rights of all citizens who will be in Philadelphia during the time the Democratic National Convention will be held in the great city.