Women’s March, Detroit in January 2019 | Ken Coleman
As President-elect Donald Trump is set to begin his second term, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is predicting that the state will take center stage in protest activity and is cautioning law enforcement across the state on how to best handle scenarios that may arise.
From demonstrations at Detroit Metro Airport in protest of Trump’s so-called “Muslim Ban” to women holding rallies for their rights, Michiganders were active the first few months of Trump’s first presidency in 2017.
Now with political divisions in the country growing deeper after a contentious election cycle, Nessel issued written guidance and a video for law enforcement to consult in order to ensure the rights to speech and assembly are protected when exercised lawfully.
“We wanted to put out that guidance, because if 2025 is anything like 2017 when the last time that Trump was sworn into office, we had an exponential rise in the amount of protest activity,” Nessel said during a media roundtable last week. “We want to make sure that we’re providing as much information as we possibly can in regard to that delicate balance between people being able to exercise their First Amendment rights, but also law enforcement being able to regulate conduct so that you don’t have people who are engaged in illegal activities and that is very delicate balance.”
Four arrested as U of M sends in police to remove pro-Palestinian encampment
The written guidance from Nessel distributed to law enforcement agencies outlines that protesting and picketing are protected activities under the First Amendment, but such actions may be regulated in a constitutionally sound manner in order to preserve the rights of others. At the same time, Nessel’s letter cautions that though law enforcement ought to be mindful of criminal offenses perpetrated during protest, such rules should be enforced mindfully and rationales for enforcement should stand up to scrutiny.
Lesser offenses the guidance calls attention to include disturbing the peace, blocking traffic and trespassing. However, in engaging in lesser offenses, some other felonious activities potentially carrying prison time may arise such as unlawful assembly, destruction of property, threatening or committing acts of violence and resisting or obstructing law enforcement.
Nessel’s letter points at the state Capitol building, courthouses, private residences and schools as probable venues for which law enforcement might be called to a protest.
The pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Michigan last year are noted by name in the news release for the letter as an example of an instance of protest that has been subject to criminal prosecution.
Four people were arrested as University of Michigan Police Department officers cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment located in the university Diag. U of M’s Division of Public Safety and Security said that before 6 a.m. on May 21 officers spent 15 minutes offering verbal warnings to the more than 50 participants in the on-campus encampment to disperse before utilizing chemical spray, leading to the arrests.
A total of 11 people are facing criminal charges from the Nessel’s office for defying law enforcement orders to vacate the encampment and then physically obstructing law enforcement officers as they worked to clear the area.
And as Nessel’s office continues the prosecution of those who incurred criminal charges during the incident of UofM and other cases, the news release from Nessel said the hope is that the guidance can provide a roadmap for local law enforcement and prosecutors to best handle incidents that may arise in their local communities.
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