Protest Bush or Get Rich Trying

Nicole and Jeff Rank, who were arrested in 2004 for refusing to remove or cover their anti-Bush T-shirts at a presidential rally, have just won an $80,000 settlement from the federal government. In prosecuting the case, the ACLU learned that the president’s advance manual has little tolerance for free speech, saying: “As a last resort security should remove the demonstrators from the event.”

AP via SFGate:

The front of the Ranks’ homemade T-shirts bore the international symbol for “no” superimposed over the word “Bush.” The back of Nicole Rank’s T-shirt said “Love America, Hate Bush.” On the back of Jeffery Rank’s T-shirt was the message “Regime Change Starts at Home.”

The ACLU said in a statement that a presidential advance manual makes it clear that the government tries to exclude dissenters from the president’s appearances. “As a last resort,” the manual says, “security should remove the demonstrators from the event.”

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