The ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild, who filed the injunction on behaf of Occupy Boston that prevented the City of Boston from removing the group from Dewey Square -- an injunction that was voided today -- say they are "reviewing the decision with our clients to determine all their options." Here's the full statement:
We are disappointed with today's decision and are reviewing the decision with our clients to determine all their options. The Occupy Boston community is making a significant contribution to national discussion of important issues--not merely through what protestors are saying, but their modeling of an alternative to what they see as imbalances and injustices in our society. Just because the court ruled today that the city can shut down the encampment at Dewey Square does not mean that it should. As city officials have repeatedly--and recently--stated, there is no immediate need to remove Occupy Boston from Dewey Square.
If city officials decide, nonetheless, to do so, how they go about it also sends an important message. Occupy Boston has always been a peaceful political protest, aimed at
drawing attention to the growing inequalities in our society. At a minimum, Boston city officials and the police must exercise restraint and respect with regard to the Occupy
Movement and the concerned citizens it represents. Although we don’t agree with the ultimate holding, the Judge recognized that Occupy Boston activities--its model of daily life--were intended to send a message that was communicated and understood, noting:
'There can be no doubt that at this writing in Boston, and perhaps throughout the country, an enclave of tents and in a public park connotes the Occupy movement and
their 99%/1% view. Matters of finance and the present economic situation are of intense concern to many people. There is considerable media attention devoted to Occupy sites, and most articles, per journalistic custom, restate the Occupy position. The media has clearly understood the plaintiffs’ contribution to the national conversation.'
With the exception of the heavy-handed removal of demonstrators from the Rose Kennedy Greenway early in the morning on Oct. 11, Boston has already become a model
of respect for freedom of speech to other cities around the country, where Occupy encampments have been broken up with levels of force that have even shocked people
who were not involved in the Occupy movement or sympathetic to its aims. Boston, as part of the long New England tradition of town meeting and grassroots
democracy, has an important role to play again in how it responds to today's decision. We believe that Boston can--and must--set an example for the entire nation in protecting
the rights of Occupy Boston participants.
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