Demonstrators in Oakland, California took to the streets over the holiday weekend to denounce new rules aimed at cracking down on disruptive nighttime protests.
City officials outlined the policy last week, saying peaceful demonstrations would be limited to sidewalks only and cannot continue past 8 p.m.
“We believe keeping people on the sidewalk, that’s safer for everybody. That doesn’t infringe upon anybody’s First Amendment right. They absolutely can be there on the sidewalk,” Police Chief Sean Whent said.
The announcement does not constitute a new policy, Mayor Libby Schaaf insisted. Instead, city officials have decided to crack down on enforcing rules that are already in place. The aim is to prevent the sort of chaos seen as recently as May 1 when protests in the city turned violent and resulted in damage to numerous businesses and vehicles.
The weekend demonstrations remained largely peaceful, though there were several arrests and 19 citations on Sunday. Opponents of the city’s plan are describing it as a “curfew”—a characterization that the mayor disputes—and have called it unconstitutional.
Read more about the protests here.