Article published November 08, 2003
PATRIOT ACT
Toledo threatens suit over ejection
Restrictions to free speech cited
By TOM TROY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Toledo city officials objected strongly yesterday to what they contend was a crackdown on free speech in Government Center over the federal Patriot Act.
Barbara Herring, the city’s law director, wrote to the office of the state attorney general asking for assurance that future public activities by city councilmen won’t be restricted.
The brouhaha over free-speech rights in a public building began Thursday afternoon when a group of civil libertarians expressing their opposition to the USA Patriot Act was ordered out of Government Center’s lobby.
The group was invited into the lobby by two city councilmen who have sponsored a resolution criticizing the law.
Enacted following the terrorist attacks of 2001, the Patriot Act expands federal power to investigate potential terrorists. Critics claim it gives federal investigators too much power, and that it will be used in investigations other than terrorism.
Councilmen Peter Gerken and Frank Szollosi are co-sponsoring the resolution, which has not come up for a vote.
The incident unfolded about 4:40 p.m. Thursday as a small group of people, along with Mr. Gerken and Mr. Szollosi, began speaking at a podium to the media. With them was a banner reading "The Patriot Act is unpatriotic." An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper and the building’s on-duty security supervisor ordered the group outside. The trooper took Mr. Gerken’s elbow and escorted him to the front door.
In her letter to the attorney general, Ms. Herring called the incident "a blatant violation of the Free Speech and Assembly clauses" of the state and federal constitutions.
She said it appeared that the "the enforcement action was taken because of speech which building management and/or state patrol personnel concluded was offensive in its content.
"To my knowledge, no elected official engaged in a press conference in the Government Center lobby has ever been escorted from the lobby before," she wrote.
She asked for an explanation and a summary of "corrective action" that will be taken, threatening legal action if it was not forthcoming in 30 days.
Council President Louis Escobar said he polled the other 11 members of council and all agreed that the news conference was within the bounds of normal practice in the building. Mr. Escobar said he believes the security personnel overstepped their bounds.
"I can understand that maybe they were sensitive to what is being said, but they take an oath to uphold the Constitution" to protect the right of free speech, Mr. Escobar said.
Mr. Gerken said it appeared that the subject matter was offensive to the troopers and security staff. He noted he had held a news conference 24 hours earlier on another subject in the same location and under the same watchful eyes.
"I can only assume they probably didn’t like what they were hearing," Mr. Gerken said.
Paul Goggins, the executive director of the Ohio Building Authority in Columbus, which owns the 22-story structure that houses city, county, and state offices, said the lobby is where visitors and workers enter and leave the building.
"Where do you draw the line at people who want to demonstrate in the building," he asked.
He said the building has longstanding policies of prohibiting news conferences that are "campaign" events. City officials argue that the rules expressly permit news conferences about issues affecting city government.
Capt. Richard Collines, of the patrol’s Findlay post, came to Toledo yesterday to investigate, and said he found no cause to make a report.
"We basically did what they requested us to do. We’re there for security purposes," Captain Collines said. "It had nothing to do with what the meeting was about."
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