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Trespass charges dropped against Bush protesters By JENNIFER BUNDY - The Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Trespassing charges against two people who wore
anti-Bush T-shirts to the president's July 4 rally at the West Virginia
Capitol were dropped Thursday because a city ordinance did not cover trespassing
on Statehouse grounds. Nicole and Jeff Rank of Corpus Christi, Texas, were removed from the
event in restraints after taking off an outer layer of clothes to reveal
homemade T-shirts that had President Bush's name with a slash through
it and the words "Love America, Hate Bush" on the back. The Ranks were given summonses to appear in Charleston Municipal Court
and released. Nicole Rank, 30, who was doing environmental work for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency in the wake of Memorial Day flooding in the state, was
released from her position after her arrest without getting another assignment.
She remains employed with FEMA. Jeff Rank, 28, who is an unemployed oceanographer, was in West Virginia
to be with her. The couple said they were pleased with the case's outcome and planned
to return to Texas immediately. "We certainly did not expect to be arrested for expressing our freedom
of expression," Jeff Rank said. Law enforcement officers told the couple to take the shirts off, cover
them or get out. When they refused and sat down, they were arrested. They
then stood and accompanied the police, said Charleston Mayor Danny Jones. The Ranks said they have not protested at other political events and
do not have any immediate plans to do so again. "We'll continue to exercise our right to free expression when we
see fit. We're not professional protesters," Jeff Rank said. "We're
going to get on with our lives and go back to Texas and get jobs." Jones said, "I don't think this was just about a T-shirt issue.
There were other things going on there. The officers, quite frankly, feared
for the safety of the Ranks." Jones said the city officers who filed the trespassing charges were acting
under the direction of the Secret Service. "The officers are in a bind here," Jones said. "I think we need some guidance. Perhaps the Secret Service should
have been called and let the Secret Service do with them what they want,"
Jones said. "The city of Charleston does not engage in violating people's rights.
We want everybody to come here," said Jones, a Republican. Still, he said he would not apologize to the Ranks. "They were there to get arrested. They succeeded." Jones said he would talk to police before Kerry's appearance Thursday
evening at the University of Charleston. The Massachusetts senator was
scheduled to appear at a rally on a lawn across the Kanawha River from
the Capitol. The Ranks were accompanied to the hearing by an attorney affiliated with
the American Civil Liberties Union. Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU's West Virginia chapter,
said the organization has been monitoring a pattern of similar cases in
other states. The ACLU in September filed a federal lawsuit against the
Secret Service, seeking an injunction against the Bush administration
for segregating protesters at his public appearances. The Secret Service agreed to stop the practice, ACLU attorney Witold
Walczak told The Charleston Gazette. Schneider said, "This case demonstrates we will be out there watching
and monitoring to make sure free speech rights are not violated regardless
of political affiliation."
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