Charleston organizers march to fight for First Amendment rights

Charleston, SC – On Saturday, July 25, 100 people marched in the “Fight for the First” rally through the heart of the historic district protesting the city’s repressive First Amendment Demonstration Ordinance, which has restricted the ability for activists to organize actions in their own city for the past five years.

Quietly passed in July of 2021 in a closed-door session with no opportunity for public opposition or comment, the ordinance requires any “First Amendment Demonstration” consisting of more than 25 people not spontaneous in nature to apply for a permit from Charleston Police Department or be declared unlawful. The city of Charleston defines First Amendment Demonstrations as any demonstration, assembly, picketing, speechmaking, marching, protesting, vigil or religious service, and all other like forms of conduct. This ordinance has hamstrung organizing in the city, restricting organizers’ ability to plan and promote impactful actions within city limits.

Demonstrators marched along the sidewalks in a line spanning multiple city blocks, down to Charleston City Hall at the historic Four Corners of Law, chanting, “City council shame on you! Chucktown has rights too!” before returning to Liberty Square for several speeches from local organizers. They spoke with conviction, while mounted police menaced demonstrators from across the park.

“Right now, we are all sitting pretty, but if we stay out here another hour, or if we come back tomorrow, these cops who are standing right over here will rip us away and put us in a box away from our families. That’s what the First Amendment ordinance does,” said Alfred Peeler, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Peeler continued, “If you stand for justice, if you stand for peace and self-determination in America, the state and the police will repress you. If we did not actually have power, if we did not have a just cause, then there would be no need for the police to be out here in the first place. They’re out here because we are right and they are threatened.” Peeler also called for demonstrators to support Nadia Topete, a Chicana immigrant rights activist courageously refusing to testify despite being called before a grand jury.

A local organizer with the Lowcountry Action Committee, Matt Colburn, also spoke. He has faced ongoing political repression stemming from the law activists gathered to protest.

“Community control of the police is our demand for an all-civilian board with control over police budgets, hiring and firing power over the police and the ability to subpoena police officers,” Coburn said.

Coburn continued, “You might wonder why I’m talking about community control of the police when it comes to 1-A. Even though it was faceless bureaucrats and city council members who passed this, it is the police who enforce it.”

“It is the police who run cover in front of ICE facilities while those fascist thugs kidnap people and tear apart families. It is the police who snatch people up and slap criminal charges on them for speaking out against the genocides their tax dollars pay for, against ICE collaboration, against these data centers,” said Coburn.

The protest was organized by the Charleston Democratic Socialists of America, alongside other Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition members such as the Lowcountry Action Committee, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization Charleston District.

Chris Tittle with EOSC spoke about how the Palestine liberation movement has faced the brunt of political repression since the law was passed. “This has been a bipartisan project to repress political speech, both nationally and right here in Charleston, South Carolina,” he said. Tittle also highlighted that the only activists who have been criminally charged under the ordinance are himself and Colburn during a pro-Palestine demonstration in 2024.

Tittle stated, “Just as we demand Elbit out of South Carolina, we demand the repeal of this entire ordinance, and the protection of free speech for all.”

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