Protests are breaking out all over. This weekend, protesters gathered at RDU to oppose President Trump’s travel ban. Last weekend, participants in Women’s Marches took to the streets of Washington and Raleigh. This post considers the criminal law issues that most often arise during protests. Generally, protests are lawful. The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, “the right of the people peaceably to assemble,” and the right “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” As discussed below, those rights aren’t unlimited: the government may impose reasonable limits on the time, place, and manner of protests and may sometimes require that protesters obtain permits. But as a starting point, the right to demonstrate is protected by the Constitution, regardless of the viewpoint expressed by the demonstrators. Some acts done while protesting are unlawful. While protests generally are lawful, the fact that an act is done during a protest does not make it lawful if it would otherwise be unlawful. To take an easy example, if a protester smashes a store window, that’s injury to real property, a Class 1 misdemeanor under G.S. 14-127. But even nonviolent protesters may run afoul of the criminal law. Some of the most common issues are addressed briefly here. Obstructing traffic. G.S. 20-171.4 makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor willfully to “stand, sit, or lie upon the highway or street in such a manner as to impede the regular flow of traffic.” This provision may be used against protesters who intentionally block traffic, [...]
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