Alachua County judges denied the appeals of 29 Occupy Gainesville protesters — including Bo Diddley’s son, Ellas Anthony McDaniel — to drop trespassing charges from 2011 during a case hearing Friday.
The defendants were arrested in violation of a city of Gainesville park hours ordinance, which states city park facilities are open for public use between 6 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.
During an Oct. 30 hearing, the defense argued the ordinance was “unconstitutionally overbroad” and “unconstitutionally vague,” according to Alligator archives.
Attorney Geoffrey Mason, who represents 27 of the defendants, said Tuesday he and the other defendants’ attorneys filed motions in April 2012 to dismiss the case on First Amendment violations.
The judges ruled Friday the ordinance didn’t violate the protesters’ constitutional rights because the ordinance is content-neutral, meaning it doesn’t distinguish between favored and disfavored speech based on the expressed views. The judges’ order said the protesters were arrested only because of their location in the center of the park. It stressed the park’s status as a free-speech zone during operating hours.
Mason said the defense plans to file supplemental motions next week based on a permit the protesters had applied for to use the park beyond regular hours from October 2011 to December 2012.
The city granted the permit but only allowed the group to use the park for one night with no further explanation, he said.
He said the ordinance, as written, allows the city manager complete control over whose requests are approved, making it a content-based ordinance.
“We’re saying that the ordinance allows [the city manager] to make this rule anything he wants it to be,” Mason said.
If the new motions are dismissed, Mason said the defendants will likely go to trial.
