

(Still shot from YouTube video of arrests.)

Try an encore performance with 1,600 of your closest friends.

If you’re just coming to this budding controversy, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin and Iraq War veteran Adam Kokesh and others staged the booty shaking to draw attention to a recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that dancing is forbidden at memorials because it distracts from the “solemn commemoration” at such sites.

The Court of Appeals ruling came after 18 flash mobbers were arrested for holding a silent dance at the memorial in 2008. One of the dancers sued the Park Police on First Amendment grounds but lost and the case was appealed.

During the arrests Saturday, a Park Police officer slammed one of the protesters to the ground and another officer put his hands around a protester’s neck (see the video below).

The new event, which organizers say is not a protest, is scheduled for this Saturday. It’s billed as “Dance Party @ TJ’S!!!” As of Monday morning, more than 1,600 people had said on Facebook that they were planning to attend.

“Come dance with us! You don't have to risk arrest, you can dance on the steps outside in support or join us in civil disobedience in the memorial!” the organizers wrote on the page.



MORE COVERAGE:

Petula Dvorak: When interpreting freedom, reason sometimes takes a back seat

BlogPost: No you still can’t dance at the Jefferson Memorial



