City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police agree to not charge people in the future with trespassing for engaging in legal First Amendment activities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jana Kooren, 651.645.4097 x123 or jkooren@aclu-mn.org
St. Paul, Minn – The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and its client, Melissa Hill, reached a settlement agreement with the City of Minneapolis and other parties in a case surrounding the right to chalk on public sidewalks. In 2011 Hill was detained and issued a trespass order after she wrote on a public sidewalk outside of the Federal Building, with erasable sidewalk chalk, in Minneapolis.
Terms of the settlement include written agreements that all of the parties involved which includes the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Police Department, Federal Protective Services, and DECO Security Services agree that writing on public sidewalk with erasable chalk is not a crime and that they should not treat it as such. The defendants also agreed to pay a portion of the legal fees as part of the settlement agreement.
"We are happy not just for our client, but for all who will benefit from the favorable resolution of this matter. The changes that the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Police Department and DECO Security Services are making as a result of the parties' settlement agreement will protect speech for many, which was our client's goal throughout," said Nadege Souvenir of Maslon Edelman Borman and Brand.
In 2011 Hill was in the process of re-chalking "Don't Enlist, Resist" when she was handcuffed, detained, searched and questioned by security guards, FPS Agents and a Minneapolis Police Department officer. The MPD issued Hill a trespass notice that prohibited her from entering the property of the Federal Building for a period of one year.
"Protecting the First Amendment is integral to full participation in our society, we are happy that individuals in the future will be allowed to exercise their rights in front of the Federal Building without fear of arrest or intimidation," stated Charles Samuelson, Executive Director of the ACLU-MN.
Cooperating attorneys in the case are: William Pentelovitch, Nadege Souvenir and Melissa Muro LaMere, all of Maslon Edelman Borman and Brand, LLP.
The settlement is available online:
/files/3013/8124/4479/Hill_Settlement_Agreement.pdf