Kenosha protesters arrested during curfew file lawsuit, say it was selectively enforced
MILWAUKEE – Four people arrested in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during demonstrations have sued the city and Kenosha County, claiming discriminatory curfew enforcement that violates the First Amendment.
The plaintiffs, residents of Kenosha, Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, seek to represent a broad class of everyone subjected to the curfew, which they ask the federal court to find unconstitutional.
"In Kenosha, there are two sets of laws – one that applies to those who protest police brutality and racism, and another for those who support the police," the suit says.
Samuel C. Hall Jr., a lawyer representing Kenosha County and the sheriff's department, responded in a statement:
"This lawsuit, filed by out of state attorneys, is entirely without merit. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department has worked tirelessly to bring order back to the community and has been careful to protect the rights of all citizens throughout that process. We plan to seek an immediate dismissal of this lawsuit."
On Wednesday afternoon, Kenosha ended the curfew, which had been extended through Labor Day weekend.
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The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, cites the widespread video of Kenosha authorities allowing a group of rifle-toting people to remain in an area from which the authorities were clearing out protesters the night of Aug. 25, even giving the armed people water and thanking them for their support.
One of the group, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, later that night fatally shot two men and wounded a third, according to a criminal complaint charging him with homicide and other counts.
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According to the suit, no pro-police demonstrators are among the roughly 150 people arrested since protests began Aug. 23, the day Jacob Blake was shot in the back by a Kenosha police officer.
Police and sheriff's deputies "have shown an unwillingness to enforce the State of Emergency in a viewpoint-neutral manner. Instead, they use it as a tool to silence those peaceful protesters who dare to confront this police department’s brutality," the suit states.
The suit calls the curfew itself – which for several nights lasted from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. – unlawful because it has no exceptions for legal observers, the news media, or "alternative channels for free expression," and as such chills First Amendment rights.
It seeks an injunction barring further enforcement of the curfew, a declaration that it is unconstitutional, and unspecified damages for the plaintiffs: Adelana Akindes and Victor Garcia of Kenosha, Oscar Walton of Milwaukee and Danica Gagliano-Deltgen of Wauwatosa.
They are represented by North Carolina civil rights lawyer and Milwaukee native Kimberly Motley, who also represents the man who was wounded by Rittenhouse and the families of three men killed in separate instances by a Wauwatosa police officer.
E. Milo Schwab of Denver is listed as co-counsel for the plaintiffs.
Follow reporter Bruce Vielmetti on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.