Hudson County View
Instagram photo via thoughtstream .
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This case is about the people’s right to speak and protest against a government policy. Our clients were using public sidewalks to express themselves and should be subject to the same laws as everyone else who uses them,” ACLU-NJ Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero said in a statement early this afternoon.
“These officials went to court to insulate themselves from opposing views. It’s not just a misuse of public resources, it’s also unconstitutional.”
The December 8th temporary restraining order, granted by Hudson County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Jablonski – who has since become the county assignment judge – included a number of specific parameters if protests were to continue, as HCV first reported.
Hudson Reporter
‘For this targeted group … speech is no longer free’
ACLU-NJ seeks dismissal of lawsuit against ICE protesters ×
According to the ACLU-NJ, protesters of the renewal of the county s contract with ICE to house detainees have had their First Amendment rights violated.
Freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble are at the center of a new brief filed by the ACLU-NJ on behalf of protesters who were issued temporary restraining orders and arrested after protesting outside Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise’s home last year.
According to the ACLU-NJ court filing, Hudson County officials violated the First Amendment rights of protesters when it used “draconian measures,” including arrests to silence opponents of the county’s renewal of its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house detainees at the Hudson County Correctional Center.
JERSEY CITY Emotions continue to run high as a renewed agreement with federal immigration officials prompted several nights of protests in Hudson County and now a restraining order against the demonstrations.
Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, as well as five county freeholders all Democrats had sought the temporary restraining order against activists demonstrating in front of DeGise’s home in Jersey City and the homes of the others named.
After an hours-long public hearing on the issue Nov. 24, the county recently renewed its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to continue housing federal detainees in Hudson County jail.
That move came despite a proposal by DeGise in September 2018 to wind down the agreement, as reported previously by the Wall Street Journal.