Occupy Dallas Takes City to Federal Court

Occupy Dallas is taking the city to federal court on Friday in order to remain in Pioneer Park. The city pulled the group's permit after they failed to secure a $1 million insurance policy. Occupy Dallas states they are not required to purchase the insurance policy according to city statutes, and city officials were making the permit impossible to obtain to drive them out of downtown Dallas.

The permit that had been provided with the insurance stipulation was yanked on Tuesday, and the city stated that Dallas police would start enforcing park curfew and the no sleeping in public ordinances. As of Wednesday evening no arrests had been made of Occupy Dallas protestors, but only time will tell. Dallas city ordinances require an insurance policy for groups of over 2,500, but there are only about 200 24-hour protestors in Dallas. All other protestors are coming when time permits and going home in the evening.

Occupy Dallas' lawyers have filed an injunction with the federal court to ensure protestors can stay put in Pioneer Park. The group has remained adamant that no illegal substances or alcohol is allowed within their camp to lessen the likelihood of unwarranted searches of all participants. Even with this precaution, police have warned all the protestors that they are subject to search which is against their constitutional rights, leaving the city up to lawsuits if police actually follow through.

The protestors do have a constitutional lawyer on their side who has been supporting the occupiers by offering free legal help. While he has not been called on to follow through with his offer to bail protestors out of jail should they be arrested, he is standing up for the group as a whole in court on Friday. Without the federal court's support, the group may find themselves subject to arrests and fines for spending the night in the park. Hopefully the court will recognize that Occupy Dallas is peacefully protesting and tell the city there is nothing they can do about the occupation.

Comments: 2

"2016 " Oct 13, 2011, 6:56am UTC

this is a PEACEFUL display of the utter disgust with POLITICAL LIES, FRAUD , DECEIPT across United States of America, it's covered under 1st Amendment of Freedom of Speach. This is NOT Russia . . . they should NOT be required to have insurance or anything else, if this IS the case then it should also be required of ALL POLITICIANS who are going around State to State begging for votes and also assembling so to speak nationwide, but yet they are excempt, at least that I know of!

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Roger Van der Zahn Oct 13, 2011, 9:09am UTC

The difference between this situation and politicians making speeches around the country is that they are not wanting to camp out overnight in city parks. No protesters in Dallas (or anywhere) are being denied their first amendments right to assemble, protest, have rallies, speak or hold marches on city sidewalks or in the public parks. This group in Dallas (as in other locations around the country) are simply being asked to follow city regulations about 11:00 pm park closings and rules against overnight sleeping in the park (put in place because of security concerns and the costs of maintaining the level of services needed to make public camping overnight in parks practical and feasible). If the protesters win this federal suit, it would impose some rather strange requirements on cities to provide camping locations in their parks, obligations which would extend to adequate police security and perhaps sanitation facilities. Anyone could then put up a tent and camp out in a city park in any city for an unlimited stay by just announcing that they were there to protest (and if they are like this group, they wouldn't even have to know what they are protesting about).

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Occupy Dallas Takes City to Federal Court

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