Someone ought to give Robert Norse a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People. Back in 2002, Norse was ejected from a City Council meeting for giving a Nazi salute. In 2004 he was ejected yet again for parading in City Council chambers. In both cases, Norse was advocating on behalf of the city’s homeless. He sued City Council, claiming that his right to free speech was violated, but this was dismissed in November by a three-member panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Now a majority of justices on the court have agreed to reconsider his case.
Norse has a long history of activism in the Bay Area. In 1996, he was arrested for distributing free food to the homeless with Food Not Bombs. At the time, Amnesty International considered declaring him a prisoner of conscience. Other arrests include the occupation of a home in the Presidio and the mayor’s office in San Jose, and for protesting the military recruiting office in Capitola. He donned loungewear and advocated against the sleeping ban in Santa Cruz under the nom de guerre Bathrobespierre. He has several times been voted Best Villain by readers of Metro Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Weekly. Read more at Fox 35.
