Protesting at the Democratic National Convention (DNC)? Know Your Rights.

This week the Democratic National Convention and all of its supporters and opponents will descend on Charlotte, North Carolina. Because there are usually numerous arrests accompanying protests of this size, the ACLU of North Carolina has gone through the trouble of creating some helpful resources for journalists and protestors alike, to help them understand and know their rights.

While last week’s RNC in Tampa resulted in only a handful of arrests, the DNC in Charlotte doesn’t have a tropical storm to contend with and attendance numbers could be much higher.

This single page “Know Your Rights” flyer (pdf) is designed to answer some basic questions that you might have when protesting at a new location. North Carolina laws must be taken into account, as well as rules and regulations specifically set up for the DNC.

Here are some of the basic points:

• You do have the right to protest, but the police and city officials are allowed to determine where and when. In this case, they’ve produced following time and place limitations that can be found on the flyer.
• You also have the right to take photos and videos of those things that are within plain view in public places. This includes the right to film and photograph police. However, the police are allowed to stop you if you are “interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations.” The city of Charlotte has said it will do everything possible to allow photography and filming.
• The police cannot delete your film or photographs under any circumstance.
• The police can conduct a warrantless and limited pat down search of you if they have reasonable suspicion that you committed or are about to commit a crime, or if they have reason to believe you are armed.
• If you are detained, ask the police if you are free to go. If not, they have to have reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is about to be committed in order to keep you without a warrant.
• Finally, the city of Charlotte has adopted an “extraordinary event” ordinance expanding police powers during the DNC. This includes, among other things, prohibiting backpacks which could be used to hold weapons. The ACLU is concerned this ordinance could lead to “standard-less searches.”

If you attend the DNC and protest, know your rights. Understand that violating the law may get you arrested, but even then the police must respect your rights.  Whether you are accused or disorderly conduct or resisting arrest, you have legal options.