Arrested at the Circus! - Part One

I started demonstrating against circuses using animals in 2002, after I read about how Ringling Bros. ropes and drags still-nursing baby elephants from their mothers to train them to do unnatural tricks for circus performances.  In addition to Ringling Bros., I also regularly demonstrate at UniverSoul Circus, the African-American circus.  UniverSoul Circus does not have a license with the USDA, but instead leases its animal acts from third parties.  Some years they use the notorious Carson & Barnes elephants, which were featured in a horrific training video where an elephant named Becky was chased and beaten with bullhooks - view video here.

UniverSoul Circus used to come to Philadelphia in the spring, before Ringling Bros. arrived.  In 2005, UniverSoul shows were from March 23 to April 3.   That was the first year I organized demonstrations at UniverSoul for every evening and weekend show - a total of 19.  The opening night show was on a chilly and rainy Wednesday night, and just two other demonstrators showed up.

UniverSoul Circus is a "big-top" circus where a portable tent is erected and the shows are performed within that tent.  That year, UniverSoul set up in Fairmount Park - a public park within the Philadelphia city limits.  The ticket booth was located away from the street or the sidewalk.  Because it was located on park property, we had the right to stand anywhere the rest of the public was allowed.

The first night, we stood right in front of the ticket booth with our signs.  The evening passed without incident until about 15 minutes before we had planned to leave, when a uniformed police officer approached us and told us we had to stand 25 feet from the ticket entrance.  I explained that there was no such requirement, and the police officer left.

The following night was another cold and windy evening.  We set up again directly in front of the ticket booth.  There was a long line waiting to go into the circus and the patrons were cranky and unreceptive due to discomfort and impatience for the doors to open and let them into the heated tent.

I wore a body screen TV which played videotaped footage of elephants being beaten by Carson & Barnes, and I walked up and down the line of people while another activist offered leaflets.  At one point, an obviously drunk patron heckled us, and others joined in.  A plainclothes police officer approached and asked that we move away from the line.  Because the patrons in line were not receptive and actually somewhat threatening at that point, we agreed to move away from the ticket booth.  Later in the evening, Sgt. DeMalto from the Philadephia Civil Affairs Unit told us that we needed a permit, and we would need to stand across the street.  I explained that we did not need a permit*, and we would not stand across the street.  He left shortly thereafter. 

The next night, Friday, we set up on a sidewalk leading towards the ticket booth, but not directly in front of the booth.  Once again, Sgt. DeMalto told us we needed to stand across the street.  I explained that the park was public property, and we had the right to demonstrate anywhere the rest of the public was allowed if we were not obstructing the sidewalk or causing a disturbance.  Sgt. DeMalto disagreed, and insisted we move across the street.  I told him if I was doing something illegal, he could arrest me.  He said, "I'm not going to arrest you," and then he left.  The rest of the shows passed without further incident...until Friday night, April 1, 2005.

* In Philadelphia, including Fairmount Park, you do not need a permit to demonstrate unless your demonstration is 75 people or more, or you will be obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic in some way (e.g. a parade or a march).  For the ordinance, please click here.  

FOR PART TWO, please click here.  Thank you for reading!

Why this Blog?

I am a law-abiding citizen.  Other than an occasional speeding ticket thanks to a heavy foot and a propensity for running late, I never encountered the police. Well, once when I was about 12 years old, a police officer stopped me on my bike for riding through a stop sign. Oh, and about 20 years later, the police came to my apartment, summoned by a neighbor who thought I was playing my music too loudly and rather than ask me to turn the volume down, called law enforcement.  But other than that, I never interacted with police officers in any way or really thought about them much.

That is, not until almost ten years ago, when I started demonstrating for various animal causes.

My first major protest, other than a march in the 1980's for animals in labs, was in Philadelphia at a Ringling Bros. Circus performance outside of the Wachovia Spectrum in April 2002.  I had recently read about how Ringling Bros. trainers were cited by the USDA for using excessive force in dragging nursing baby elephants from their mothers for training, leaving welts and sores.  I wanted to raise awareness about the facts of the lives of animals used in the circus, and participating in a demonstration outside of the very entity responsible for the abuse seemed to be the one of the most efficient ways to do so.

The April 2002 demonstration was uneventful except for some surprising (to me at the time) nastiness from patrons of the circus.  I can still see the face of the woman who turned around to scream at me, "I love to hunt animals and KILL them!"  I don't remember any major police presence, but there were a few officers in plainclothes that I later learned were from the Philadelphia Police Department's "Civil Affairs Unit."

In the next year or two, I participated in more circus demonstrations as well as events for animals killed for their fur and protests against foie gras.  Again, I don't remember much of a police presence, except that the plainclothes officers were often present.

In 2004, I participated in several demonstrations outside of Ferber Furs in Philadelphia.  Police were always present and sometimes filmed the demonstrators, which was puzzling and somewhat intimidating.
During one demonstration, I walked down the sidewalk to stand in front of an eyeglass store,  Pearle Vision Center or something like that.  The store owner did not like the sign I was holding and asked me to move.  I explained that I was on a public sidewalk and had the right to stand there.  She then approached a plainclothes police officer from the Philadelphia Police Department's Civil Affairs Unit and asked him to tell me to move.   Much to my astonishment, he did.

After I recovered somewhat from my surprise, I asked him why he was requesting that I move.  He said, "Because the place you're protesting is over there."  I explained that I had the right to stand anywhere on the public sidewalk as long as I wasn't blocking the sidewalk or causing a disruption.  He repeated that I needed to move.   I then moved because I thought maybe there was in fact a basis for him to do so that I might not be aware of.

After that incident, I extensively researched the laws covering demonstrations in Philadelphia.  I learned that no permit is required for events with fewer than 75 people.  I found out that the police officer had no basis for requesting that I move.   The only reason the police officer requested that I move was that the store owner had asked him to do so, and that is not a lawful reason to require a legal, peaceful demonstrator to move.

Unfortunately, the scenario of a business owner having the police request me to move would repeat itself dozens of times over the next year as I became more active in animal advocacy.  On April 1, 2005, I was arrested outside of UniverSoul Circus for standing on a public sidewalk after a Civil Affairs officer unlawfully requested me to move.  At my trial, I was found not guilty, and the ACLU brought a lawsuit on my behalf for false arrest and violation of my First Amendment rights, which we settled for a nominal amount of money, attorney's fees, and required training for Civil Affairs officers.

From 2005 to the present, I have participated in hundreds of demonstrations and outreach events from New York to Delaware, most often in the Philadelphia area.   With few exceptions, police do not know the laws covering First Amendment rights.  Many of my fellow demonstrators are similarly unaware of their rights.  Unfortunately, this combination means that most often the police will unlawfully request demonstrators to do certain things, and because the demonstrators are not aware of their rights, they will assume the police know what they are talking about and follow their directive.

This blog is to help communicate and explain the rights we all enjoy as taxpayers and citizens of this country - rights our forefathers died for and rights we should never relinquish.  And, I hope, will be a little entertaining along the way!