Blind activist arrested at Capitol disability event

LANSING – A blind activist for disability rights is to be arraigned in district court in Lansing on Friday after he was arrested at an Americans with Disabilities Act rally and demonstration in front of the Capitol on Sept. 17.

The Michigan State Police say a man disobeyed orders to stay behind a barrier at the event on the Capitol lawn and pushed two State Police Capitol security officers. They haven’t named the man, pending his arraignment, but court records show it is Paul Joseph (Joe) Harcz, 62, of Mt. Morris.

Harcz, who faces a felony charge of resisting and obstructing a peace officer, said he didn’t do anything illegal and that his rights were violated when he was handcuffed and dragged away.

“I resisted an unlawful order to violate my First Amendment rights and my rights as a person with a disability under the ADA,” Harcz told the Free Press on Monday. He said he went limp in a civil disobedience posture when officers grabbed and handcuffed him, and “I did not resist arrest.”

The event at the Capitol was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ADA, landmark federal legislation that prohibits discrimination based on disability, imposes accessibility requirements on public facilities and requires covered employers to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities. But a demonstration was planned to coincide with the celebration, protesting the payment of sub-minimum wages to people with disabilities by some of the event organizers and highlighting the fact the Capitol itself is not fully ADA-compliant.

Harcz, an outspoken critic of state disability policies who uses a white cane, said he was there for both reasons — to celebrate the accomplishments of the ADA and demonstrate against its shortfalls. He pointed to a March e-mail from the ADA Celebration’s main organizer, Disability Network/Michigan CEO Sara Grivetti, recommending that he be named to the accommodations committee planning the ADA celebration.

“I was denied access and bogusly arrested for attempting to attend it, and I was nominally one of the event ‘planners!’ ” Harcz said in an e-mail.

Grivetti confirmed Monday that Harcz was invited to join the accommodations committee “because of his specific expertise regarding accessibility as it relates to blindness.”

“Any questions regarding the security, protest and subsequent arrest would need to be directed to the Michigan State Police and the Facilities Manager for the Capitol,” Grivetti said in an e-mail.

The State Police said in a news release that it had safety concerns related to the ADA celebration and demonstration and that “barricades were utilized to keep opposing groups separated, while allowing all in attendance to safely express their views.”

Harcz “was warned numerous times to not interfere with police officers,” the release said. “The suspect was arrested after he purposely crossed a barricade and shoved two MSP state properties security officers.”

Video posted on YouTube shows Harcz and other demonstrators shouting “Shame on you!” and “Let us in!” and Harcz trying to get between a line of State Police Capitol officers prior to the arrest.

Harcz denies intentionally shoving anyone. “I’m 150 pounds, and I’m blind,” he said. “If I touched somebody, I touched them. There was all kinds of chaos going on.”

Harcz, the only person arrested, said he and a few others were arbitrarily singled out for exclusion from the event, and other protesters were able to cross or go around barricades to enter the ADA celebration.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660