Robert Norse will be appearing before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today in connection with a 2002 protest at a City Council meeting.
Robert Norse will be appearing before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today in connection with a 2002 protest at a City Council meeting. At the time, then Mayor Christopher Krohn cut off a speaker after remarks he made criticizing City Council. Norse stood up and raised his arm in a Nazi salute to protest the interruption. It is not the salute per se that is the focus of the trial. Free speech, including offensive speech (and salutes) is protected. What is not protected is unreasonable and disruptive behavior at public meetings.
The issue will be especially important as members of Congress prepare to head home for their summer break. Tensions flared at town hall meetings last year over the controversial
health care bill, and with an election scheduled for November, a repeat performance of last year’s spectacle is to be expected. Santa Cruz City Attorney John Barisone anticipates that the trial, which will take place in Southern California and be video-conferenced to the Ninth Court of Appeals in San Francisco, will draw considerable attention from the media.
Read more at KSBW and Santa Cruz Sentinel.
