Controversial conservative blogger Pamela Geller says in a new lawsuit that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ban on public demonstrations violates her First Amendment right to protest the shut-down.
“There is no justification, pandemic or otherwise, for a government official to revoke this fundamental right of the people,” wrote lawyer David Yerushalmi in the civil rights filing that asks a judge to rescind the directive.
The suit, which also names Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, says that if not for the “draconian restrictions on liberty” banning demonstrations, Geller would have organized and participated in a rally against the shut-down.
These demonstrations, she argued, can be held while “maintaining proper social distancing.”
The mayor’s office defended the policy and said it is pursuant to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order.
“If our officers see any large groups gathering, they will break it up — whether in a park or protesting on a street corner,” said spokeswoman Oliva Lapeyrolerie. “This pandemic has killed at least 13,000 New Yorkers, and will not be treated as business as usual. That is our responsibility to New Yorkers and we take it incredibly seriously.”
Yerushalmi said the suit doesn’t name Cuomo because his PAUSE directive doesn’t specifically forbid public protests, while de Blasio’s executive order does.
During a recent press conference, de Blasio and Shea announced that the ban on “non-essential gatherings” included a suspension of the right to publicly protest, Yerushalmi wrote in the filing.
Geller is asking for nominal damage and attorneys’ fees. An NYPD spokesman said they’d review the lawsuit once they’re served.
Additional reporting by Julia Marsh