Tampabay: Bush protesters say rights were muzzled

Bush protesters say rights were muzzled

But the Legends Field rally was private, a Secret Service spokesman said, so the hosts were free to bar whom they chose.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD

But the Legends Field rally was private, a Secret Service spokesman said, so the hosts were free to bar whom they chose.

TAMPA -- Amid throngs gathered to see President Bush on Monday, the three protesters stood with signs that said "Investigate Florida Votergate" and "June is Gay Pride Month."

The crowd at Legends Field jostled them, hurled invective, grabbed their signs from their hands and even threw punches, the protesters say. Security officers saw the disturbance and gave the protesters a choice: Give up the signs or leave.

Mauricio Rosas, the Tampa activist who carried the gay pride sign, refused to budge. "The police said, "Is it worth holding onto this sign and going to jail?' " Rosas, 37, said in an interview. "I said, "Yup, it sure is.' There's no reason for me not be to able to stay there with my sign."

Rosas and his fellow protesters, Janis M. Lentz, 55, of New Port Richey and Sonja Haught, 59, of Clearwater were charged with misdemeanor trespassing after police said they linked arms and refused requests to leave. Haught was also charged with disorderly conduct, accused of striking a police officer with her open hand.

The protesters say the police response muzzled their First Amendment rights. But a Secret Service spokesman called the rally "essentially a private function" that required a ticket for entrance, comparing Legends Field to a church rented for a wedding.

That being the case, even some civil liberties experts say the hosts can legally exclude whomever they chose, except in a way that discriminates against protected groups, such as by race or religion.

Bruce Howie, legal director of the Pinellas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he was nevertheless troubled by the incident.

"They may have been within their legal rights to exclude someone, but I think they demonstrated poor judgment and a misunderstanding of the First Amendment," Howie said. "I think the entire incident reflects poorly on the management of Legends Field. They seem to have no compunction against suppressing free speech."

But Mike Pheneger, a spokesman for the ACLU of Florida, questioned whether the rally qualified as private since the public was invited.

"You can't turn around and hold a public function and claim it's private," he said. "It wasn't advertised for "good Republicans only.' "

"This was blatant discrimination," said Lentz, a protester. "They didn't have a right to tell (Rosas) he couldn't hold up his gay sign. We feel this was bigotry."

On the night of the arrests, Tampa police spokeswoman Katie Hughes said the Secret Service had instructed police that anti-Bush signs within eyeshot of the president were a security risk.

Not so, said Gregory Mertz, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service office in Tampa. "If someone holds up a sign, no matter what it says, for the most part, he has a right to hold up that sign," Mertz said. He said the Secret Service doesn't get involved unless there's danger to the president.

If the host of a rally decides someone is causing a disturbance -- in this case the host being Legends Field -- it's up to them to respond, Mertz said.

On Tuesday, Hughes said in an interview that she had been relying on information from a police supervisor when she made the statement about Secret Service policy. She declined to divulge the name of the supervisor.

Hughes said the police were merely responding to a request from Legends Field security to help remove the protesters. "It appears the signs they were carrying were causing a disturbance with the crowd. It was inciting the crowd," Hughes said. "We showed tremendous restraint."

Security officials at Legends Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees, did not return a call seeking comment.

Despite calls to the Tampa Sports Authority, Legends Field and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, it was unclear Tuesday who was handling arrangements for the president's visit.

Howie, the ACLU legal director, said the protesters' unpopularity in the crowd was not a good reason to oust them.

"I think the people who are responsible for disturbing the assembly were those who acted in an aggressive fashion," he said. "I've often found it intriguing they will blame the unpopular person for the over-reaction of others."

- Christopher Goffard can be reached at (813) 226-3337.