Peaceful protest is a time-honored tradition in the United States, far more than in most countries. People do not get arrested for peaceful protests in this country. Sometimes they cross legal lines – trespassing, vandalism, assault, and other crimes that go beyond peacefully advocating a point of view – but protesters in such circumstances are not arrested for protesting, they are arrested for the act that violated the law. Protesting itself enjoys federal and state constitutional protections in Texas, and those protections are jealously guarded.
The Federal and Texas Constitutions Protect Protest Rights
Protesting peacefully – and sometimes not all that peacefully – is an American tradition that goes back to even before the founding of the country; think Boston Tea Party, for instance. Once the country was founded, the right to protest peacefully was enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, in the First Amendment, a part of the Bill of Rights. Likewise, Texas has in its constitution protections of the right of peaceful protest, protecting freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble. The key word there is “peacefully.” The primary provisions that protect the right to protest include:
- The U.S. Constitution. Under the First Amendment, the federal Constitution protects protest rights in several ways. These include the right to free speech, the right to “peaceably” assemble, and the right to petition the government for grievances. These protections of rights combine to strongly protect the right to protest peacefully.
- The Texas Constitution. The right to protest is protected in two different places in the state document. In one section, the state constitution, mirroring the federal Constitution, protects freedom of the speech and the press. In the second section, the state protects the right to peaceably assemble, as in the U.S. Constitution. Combined, the state constitution, just like the federal document, protects the rights to assemble peacefully and say what you want about government policies.
What these protections mean is that you are protected in your speech and actions if you gather peacefully and state your grievances with any policy or action of the government or, for that matter, of anyone else. That protection extends to more than simply actual speech, and includes signs, posters, armbands, and other means of expressing your opinion. However, these rights are not unlimited, and the government can impose restrictions to maintain public order and ensure that protests are peaceful. For instance, you cannot protest on private property without permission. Any other restrictions placed on protests by the government likely will be upheld so long as they are reasonable and not based on the content of the speech involved. If you feel you need to set something on fire to express your opinion, that is almost certainly not going to be protected. Circumstances matter.
If You Have Been Arrested at a Protest in Houston, Talk to Madrid Law Firm
The right to protest peacefully is well-protected by both the Texas and U.S. constitutions. If you are arrested while participating in a peaceful protest, this could be a violation of your protected rights to protest. If you find yourself in such a situation, you should talk to Madrid Law Firm. Depending upon the circumstances, you might have a solid defense against any charges you might face.
