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Inaugural protest group to file free speech suit

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From CNN Correspondent Kate Snow

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the groups organizing protests to coincide with the inauguration of President George W. Bush plans to file suit in federal court Tuesday.

The International Action Center (IAC) said law enforcement authorities will not allow protesters sufficient access to an area for which they have a U.S. Park Service permit to hold demonstrations and that the security plan for Saturday's activities is so confusing and vague it is making it difficult for protesters to abide by the law.

The group said the government and police are deliberately stepping on its First Amendment right to free speech in order to "have a pretty parade."

"The protesters aren't asking for anything unreasonable," said attorney Carl Messineo, "They don't ask to have a float in the parade ... All they want is to stand along Pennsylvania Avenue."

The Bush inaugural parade will run along Pennsylvania Avenue between the U.S. Capitol and the White House.

The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, will name the U.S. Park Service, the U.S. Secret Service and the Washington Metropolitan Police Department as defendants.

The Park Service and the Secret Service could not be reached for comment Monday because of the Martin Luther King holiday. But Secret Service spokesman Larry Cockell told CNN last week, "We don't discourage peaceful protests. We do discourage disruptive activities that challenge our mission. And the coordination effort with law enforcement is prepared to deal with it."

Attorneys for the IAC said they hope to receive an expedited hearing and obtain a temporary restraining order against the current security plan.

Washington's Metropolitan Police have said they will work with Secret Service agents to monitor checkpoints around the perimeter of the parade area. Police have not said explicitly what type of materials will be prohibited, but they have indicated they may take away sticks and anything that could be used as a weapon.

Police Chief Charles Ramsey has also said they may not allow bags of fruit or other items that could be used to disrupt Bush's inaugural parade.

"We'll be as gentle or as forceful as we need to be," Ramsey said, "They have a right to protest, we respect their right to protest, we have every intention of allowing them to do that, as long as it doesn't interfere with the parade itself or the events that are associated with it."

But protesters said police are going overboard, contending police checkpoints will not be used for security purposes but to remove political signs and other legal forms of protest.

"They are not screening based on security," said Brian Becker with the IAC, "They're screening based on political intent."

In the lawsuit, protesters will also argue that the rules on entry and what is or is not permitted within the parade perimeter are so vague that they are discouraging people who might otherwise come to Washington from doing so, for fear of being arrested.

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