It starts

[ebonlock]

Well that didn't take long:

A new provision tucked into the Patriot Act bill now before Congress would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any "special event of national significance" away to jail on felony charges if they are caught breaching a security perimeter.

...Sen. Arlen Specter , R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsored the measure, which would extend the authority of the Secret Service to allow agents to arrest people who willingly or knowingly enter a restricted area at an event, even if the president or other official normally protected by the Secret Service isn't in attendance at the time.

...the new provision would allow ... arrests even after those VIPs have left the premises of any designated "special event of national significance." The provision would increase the maximum penalty for such an infraction from six months to one year in jail.

..."You are talking about giving the executive branch broader authority to create these exclusion zones which could cover broad areas and last for days [during an event ]," David Kopel, a constitutional expert with the Cato Institute, told FOXNews.com....

via No More Mister Nice Blog

Hey Dems in the Senate, could we maybe bring this up when it comes time to discuss the Patriot Act, hmm?

Comments

[canellaphile.livejournal.com]

That's very frightening. I could see them calling any area around one of their corporate constituents a "restricted area".

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Or anywhere else they damn well pleased, that's the beauty of it. I wonder how long it'll be before we're also required to avert our eyes as the ruling political party passes by...