Bristol Law Prof Says Trump Inauguration Committee's Request Might Infringe on First Amendment Rights

BRISTOL, RI — A Roger Williams University law professor says blocking Women’s March from key D.C. sites could infringe on First Amendment rights. But the National Park Service is saying, hold on a minute.

The NPS says it hasn't denied the request from the Woman's March, also known as Gathering for Justice, and is still working with that group on locations. Meanwhile, it did start a permit application for the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial at the request of President-elect Trump's inauguration committee, but the committee can release those sites, if it's not going to use them for the ceremony.

Then they'd become available to the Women's March.

The Women's March is set for Jan. 21, a day after Trump takes office. Women are marching on Washington, D.C., but they're also marching on London and other cities around the globe.

So, while the jury's still out on whether the women can protest at the Lincoln Memorial, Jenna Wims Hashway, RWU law professor, says if the women's march ultimately is blocked, there will be questions about whether first amendment rights have been infringed upon.

An omnibus block permit could make the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial off-limits to protests for weeks before and after the Jan. 20 ceremony, she said.

"Blocking the Women’s March from the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial risks infringing on the First Amendment freedom of speech and freedom to assembly peaceably, she said Monday, writing in the school's new First Amendment blog.

But it's by no means the first time the National Park Service has issued an omnibus block permit when a president is being inaugurated, she allowed.

"It’s common practice, I gather, for the National Park Service to apply for a blocking permit, on behalf of the inaugural committee," she said. "That sets space aside so that the inauguration has first priority, but then as plans are made, space is released. That’s what normally happens, but much of what we’ve seen this year isn’t normal. The committee should release space to groups seeking a permit, but it’s far from clear whether it will."

The National Park Service tweeting it will release spaces but on a first-come, first-served basis.

“The Lincoln Memorial has been the site of historic protests, from the Vietnam era to the Million Man March,” Hashway wrote. “Can the government make it off limits to the Women’s March?”

She quoted a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says peaceful picketing is protected speech, and spaces such as the Lincoln Memorial that are “historically associated with the free exercise of expressive activities” are deemed “public forums.” And within public forums, the government’s ability to restrict speech is very limited, she said.

Courtesy Photo National Park Service