Keeping Freedom Penned Up

Finding that the pens used by New York Police to control crowds have caused "irreparable harm" to the demonstrators' First Amendment rights in the past, federal judge Robert W. Sweet ruled that protestors must be able to freely move in and out of these containment areas. He also barred general searches of protesters' bags by police unless they receive information of a specific security threat. This after a previous demonstration where police were ordered to search the bags of all demonstrators and bar anyone who refused to allow a search.