Demonstrators Can Be Charged with Felony, Jailed Under Patriot Act

Arlen Specter's vision of Amerika:

WASHINGTON — 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.

Note the provision was sneaked in, without hearings or open debate.

First Amendment Rights? What's that?

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