www.cldc.org

EUGENE, OR: The U.S. General Services Administration Regional Director issued a letter of denial in response to a permit application submitted by Occupy Eugene members seeking to continue their public protest at the corner of 7th and Pearl Streets in Eugene, Oregon. Occupy Eugene members have stated they will continue their protest without a permit and will risk arrest to challenge the restriction upon their First Amendment Rights.

On May 1, 2012, members of Occupy Eugene (“OE”) began a protest at the Federal Plaza location at 7th and Pearl Streets. The demonstrators have created a vibrant space that includes a table and awning where they talk with people and distribute literature regarding the many political issues represented by OE. The corner also contains many political signs and flags on topics such as “support our vets,” corporate greed and corruption, and environmental concerns. Community members have expressed their opinions on this corner regularly for decades without governmental interference. The local Federal Protective Services officer told OE that they were welcome at the location for as long as they wanted as long as the protestors did not sleep at the location and obeyed the law. He requested that Occupy Eugene apply for a 60-day permit to document the 24-hour a day protest and provide the building manager with a point of contact. OE applied for the permit, agreed to the condition that its members would not sleep at the location, and the permit was granted. OE has been peacefully demonstrating at this location for the last 70 days without any problems or incidents. Several other community groups have also continued to use the public space without any conflicts.

Shortly before the 60-day permit expired, the Regional Director of the GSA contacted OE to inform them that they would need to apply for a new 30-day permit and that they would only be allowed to protest from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Director claimed that the local federal officials had granted OE’s 24 hour a day permit “by mistake,” and that as a result of ‘Occupy problems in other states,’ they were no longer allowing protests 24 hours a day on federal property. The Director did not cite to any problems or complaints with the OE protest. OE then submitted a new 30 day permit application requesting the same terms and conditions as their prior permit, including a 24-hour presence. On July 9, 2012, the GSA Director denied OE’s permit application stating, “The primary reason that the permit is not approved is that it seeks to maintain a presence within the plaza for 24 hours a day for a period of 30 days.” The Director now states that he intends to curtail the right to protest between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

“The denial does not provide a single compelling governmental reason to restrict the constitutional rights of the Occupy Eugene protest,” states attorney Lauren Regan of the Civil