In correspondence delivered today, Councilman John J. Lombardi (Ward 13) asked Mayor David N. Cicilline to halt the protester registration policy announced by the City earlier this week.

The policy requires that individual protesters and protest groups submit a registration form, indicate the maximum number of participants taking part in the protest, and restrict their protest to a designated “public viewing area.”  The new policy came in advance of the U.S. Conference of Mayors event which begins tomorrow.

Lombardi stated in his letter to the mayor that, despite the City’s assurances that the policy is simply intended to ensure public safety, “…the protester registration policy, if implemented, is an affront to our citizens’ First Amendment protections. Indeed, by appearance and in spirit, the policy seems to be aimed more at curtailing free speech and the right to peaceably assemble.”

The councilman also questioned why the policy was so hastily promulgated. He noted that, “Surely, City administrators would have known months in advance that the annual meeting of the mayors typically draws protesters far and wide, and would have had ample time to deliberately and thoughtfully create, recommend and review a policy to protect the public safety during the event.”

Lombardi said that the policy could place the City “in harm’s way” and may make the City vulnerable to legal challenge. He asked the mayor “to halt the unjustified and unwarranted policy.”