Trump proposal could squelch Washington protests

Plan would limit protests around the White House, historically where some of the most impactful demonstrations were held.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump's presidency has inspired huge protests, with hundreds of thousands of women marching on the National Mall and scientists swarming the White House fence.

But now the Trump administration is seeking to restrict protests by effectively blocking them along the north sidewalk of the White House and making it easier for police to shut them down. A National Park Service proposal also would open the door to charging organizers for the cost of putting up barricades or reseeding grass.

The proposed regulation could curtail demonstrations on some of Washington's most popular staging grounds for protests, including the National Mall where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream"' speech in 1963. It also includes Lafayette Square across from the White House and the Pennsylvania Avenue sidewalks in front of the Trump International Hotel.

The proposal dovetails with Republicans' increasingly heated campaign rhetoric over "mob rule" and the boisterous protests against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Trump has also been antagonistic toward protesters, once waxing nostalgic about how it used to be socially acceptable to assault them.

"When you think about petitioning your government for redress of grievances, this is the nation's capital — this is where you come to do it," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which opposes the proposal. "And now you have the Trump administration that is not only engaging in extreme rhetoric against demonstrators and suggesting that protests should be illegal," but "taking concrete actions to suppress dissent and suppress free speech."

The proposal, issued in August and open for comment through Monday, says demonstrations can impose substantial costs on the federal government. Some of the changes are designed to "preserve an atmosphere of contemplation" around the memorials, the Park Service said. Other revisions, according to the proposal, would help protect National Mall grass from being trampled and give the Park Service more time to negotiate logistics before permits would be issued for demonstrations.

Fee requirements could make mass protests "too expensive to happen," said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in the District of Columbia.

"Managing public lands for the benefit of the American people" — whether demonstrators or tourists — "is what Congress funds the National Park Service to do," Spitzer said in a blog post. "While the Park Service may be strapped for funds, it cannot balance its budget on the backs of people seeking to exercise their constitutional rights."

Current National Park Service rules for rallies and marches have been forged through decades of court cases, including lawsuits that successfully challenged government restrictions. The proposal would rewrite many of those rules — and, if enacted, face certain litigation.

The plan would transform the way the agency vets demonstrations and where they can be conducted. For example, it could blur the lines between the Park Service's treatment of demonstrations, which typically get more deference, and "special events," such as festivals and the filming of movies.