FAIRBANKS — The Occupy Fairbanks movement and borough officials can’t agree about the tent that protesters set up in an effort to stay warm during days of record-breaking cold in Alaska’s second-largest city.
The shelter is still up at Veterans Memorial Park despite instructions from Fairbanks North Star Borough officials to take it down, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Wednesday.
Group members have said they need the tent and its wood stove to continue to exercise their First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. However, borough officials have said the tent violates park rules.
About six protesters have stayed at the downtown Fairbanks park 24 hours per day for more than a month.
During last Thursday’s Borough Assembly meeting, Assemblyman Michael Dukes asked the administration to set a hard deadline for the protesters to remove all the tents.
“We need to give them some firm ground rules to say today is the day,” he said.
That was the day that temperatures reached 41 degrees below zero in Fairbanks.
Mayor Luke Hopkins and Borough Attorney Renee Broker have been wary about the legal implications of taking a hard line with the protesters.
“The regulations that I have seen have actions in them that I think step strongly on First Amendment rights,” Hopkins said.
Comments (4)
Add commentFirst Amendment
Can a city set 'rules' that violate someone's 1st Amendment rights? I don't think so.
Assemblyman Dukes is a hard right extremist who thumps his chest about his love of the constitution, but then whips out petty municipal rules to stomp on anyone's constitutional rights the minute they use those rights in some way he doesn't approve of. Ahh, sweet, sweet hypocrisy.
I support the protestors
I applaud the convictions of anyone who is willing to protest in -41F weather.
The mayor should be more accommodating. If they can't set their tent up where it is, he needs to provide another viable place before he starts shredding their constitutional rights.
I hope the ACLU gets involved in this. The 99% depend on it.
I'll remember the OWS movement when I get arrested...
... since apparently the laws don't apply to this group.
Camping out in -41* F is not freedom of speech, that is INSANITY. Plus, we all know all the evildoer corporations hang out in parks :)
This group would make more sense by putting their energy into their own folks running for office and making a difference. Corporations are big for a reason - its what employs most of us, we buy all of our goods from corporations, and they pay taxes. There's a way to reform some of the ways businesses conduct themselves without this "civil disobedience".... err breaking the law.
Nate
No doubt they will be engaging in the political process. But for now their "insanity" is getting attention in the media and changing the dialogue...without a bunch of people shouting at town halls and carrying weapons around to show their 'patriotism'.
Besides, what's your issue with them occupying the park if they aren't bothering your precious corporations? Do you figure they're disturbing the other -41 degree park users?