“Boulder City Council invests $30m/yr in genocide and ecocide in Palestine,” a message written in chalk on the Pearl Street Mall reportedly read in all caps.
is suing the city and seven police officers for infringing her First Amendment rights by citing her after she wrote a pro-Palestinian message in washable chalk on the Pearl Street Mall. Laura Gonzalez, 39, alleges in the suit that seven Boulder police officers of targeting her for her support of Palestinians, and of selectively enforcing the city’s graffiti policy against her and not others who have written or drawn with chalk in Boulder, according to the One Boulder police officer, Carlos Castro, cited Gonzalez for graffiti after she wrote a message in chalk deriding the City Council’s investments, the complaint states.
“Boulder City Council invests $30m/yr in genocide and ecocide in Palestine,” the message reportedly read in all caps when it was written in June.Students walk out of Mapleton schools for ICE protests after Denver-area district tells them they can’t leaveBoulder prohibits anyone from painting or coloring on public or private property without permission from the city or private property owner, according to its The graffiti prohibition, according to the complaint, violates the U.S. Constitution by prohibiting speech protected under the First Amendment. On June 5, Gonzalez had gone to protest the City Council’s decision to meet remotely and suspend public comment, the complaint states. She and a group of people were protesting at the Pennfield Tate Building when police officers, including Caitlin Spinney and Elijah Cook-Cruz, reportedly told the group they couldn’t use a megaphone. Gonzalez and the group later walked to the Pearl Street Mall while putting up flyers protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza and the city’s so-called complicity, according to the complaint. As the group walked, the seven police officers continued to monitor them, including while Gonzalez started writing in chalk on the mall. At least two officers, including Spinney and Cook-Cruz, watched Gonzalez write the message, said nothing until she finished, read the message and then approached her, the lawsuit alleges. Another officer, Castro, drove up and told Gonzalez that by writing in chalk, she violated the city’s graffiti policy, according to the complaint. Castro told Gonzalez that the fact that her message would incite a response from others is what violated the city’s code, according to the lawsuit. Castro and the other six officers detained Gonzalez, , which the suit describes as a violation of her freedom of speech. Castro then cited Gonzalez for using the sidewalk chalk. Other people have been allowed to write in chalk on public property, but Gonzalez was discriminated against because of her views regarding the city council and the treatment of Palestinians, the complaint alleges. “While Defendant Castro issued Ms. Gonzalez a citation, Defendants Mulhall and Bustillos spoke disparagingly about one of Ms. Gonzalez’s fellow protesters for wearing a shirt denouncing the genocide in Gaza at an event the previous day,” the complaint reads. “It was clear that the viewpoint of Ms. Gonzalez’s advocacy was the basis for her citation.” Castro then apologized to the other officers involved for “exposing them to legal liability,” according to the complaint. The Boulder Municipal Court does not have any records of the graffiti case against Gonzalez, according to the court administrator, De’Von Kissick Kelly. When court records are sealed, the court cannot confirm or deny whether a case ever existed, but will state that there is no such record. The lawsuit states that the graffiti prosecution ultimately ended in Gonzalez’s favor and indicated her innocence. None of the Boulder police officers involved were disciplined for their actions, the complaint states. Not disciplining the officers effectively condones the unconstitutional practices, according to the complaint. No complaints about the incident were ever made to the police department’s Professional Standards Unit, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, spokesperson Dionne Waugh said. The complaint asks for a jury trial and aims to invalidate Boulder’s municipal graffiti code It also requests legal fees and unspecified damages. “The First Amendment exists precisely so that people like Laura Gonzalez can criticize their government without fear of retaliation,” Andy McNulty, one of Gonzalez’s lawyers, wrote in a release. “Children write in sidewalk chalk in Boulder every day without facing criminal prosecution. The only difference here is that Ms. Gonzalez’s message was one the City of Boulder didn’t want to hear.” Gonzales also reiterated her belief that the way the city invests its money supports genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. “You don’t have to agree with my methods, my values or my voice, and if they strip my right to speak, they set a precedent to strip yours,” Gonzalez wrote in the release. “We either defend free speech for all, or we lose it for everyone.”to one felony count of retaliation against an elected official, and two harassment counts – one physical and one verbal, after police accused her of yelling at City Councilmember Matt Benjamin and pushing another person.Another longtime Denver-area brewery set to close its doors in JuneA day in the life of a child-free Coloradan — and the child care that makes it possibleWolf wandered through parts of Jefferson, Douglas counties in March Denver’s $1 billion road overhaul would cut space for cars, boost public transit. Critics say it will make traffic worse. Denver's $1 billion road overhaul would cut space for cars, boost public transit. Critics say it will make traffic worse.Broncos owner Greg Penner turns up pressure on new stadium talks, calls Burnham Yard timeline 'ambitious'
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