Pro-Trump activist within rights to wield profane protest sign in public
TORONTO — A Donald Trump supporter had every right to brandish a profane protest sign in a busy public park on a summer’s day at Niagara Falls, Ontario’s top court ruled on Monday.
In quashing a trespass notice issued to Fredrick Bracken, the Court of Appeal said the ability to protest publicly — even using vulgar language — is an essential part of the democratic process.
“In a free society, individuals are permitted to use open public spaces to address the people assembled there, to challenge each other, and to call government to account,” the Appeal Court said. “The idea that the parks are somehow different — that they are categorically a ‘safe space’ where people are to be protected from exposure to political messages — is antithetical to a free and democratic society and would set a dangerous precedent.”
At the same time, the court upheld the constitutionality of a rule barring park users from abusive behaviour that could interfere with the enjoyment of other users. The provision, the court found, was a reasonable restriction on free speech.