CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - It's just 15 days until the Democratic National Convention starts in Charlotte.
On Monday, a webinar hosted by the ACLU, spoke to the balancing act between keeping people safe and allowing protesters to get their message out.
The ACLU, the city, and a Duke law professor were all at the table. They briefed protestors on rules and regulations during the DNC then took questions from the public.
Legal Director of the ACLU of North Carolina Chris Brook said the ACLU and the city don't see eye to eye on everything but having this dialogue is beneficial to everyone involved.
"I definitely think there is a valid concern that folks have about whether the intended audience of the protestors will see and hear the message they are attempting to convey," Brook said.
Four years ago, the ACLU in Denver filed a lawsuit against the city and secret service saying demonstration zones violated free speech.
A judge ruled in favor of security over first amendment rights.
Denver did pay out $200,000 for falsely arresting a group of protestors and violating their first amendment rights
No lawsuits have been filed in Charlotte but the city attorney says they're worked on the assumption there might be post convention.
"One of the things we are concerned about is the extraordinary designation that the city of Charlotte passed prior to the convention..our concern there is there could be standard-less searches..that there could be profiling involved," Brook said.
"We've been doing everything we can to better understand the laws and the extraordinary event that's been enacted by the city of Charlotte," Organizer for March on Wall Street South Ben Carroll said. "We really hopes this leaves behind more organizing infrastructure and more ability for people to organize and continue to fight for justice and jobs for all the struggles in our community. We are going to continue to organize and continue to build and demand the world we deserve long after the democratic convention leaves town."
The city attorney told WBTV he has been working with the ACLU ever since Charlotte was announced as the DNC host.
He says respecting people's first amendment rights is "our goal..now it's a matter of executing it."
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