“The First Amendment guarantees our right to criticize the government
and peacefully join with others to picket, to petition, to demonstrate.
But the right to express unpopular views is a fragile one,” ACLU of Colorado
lawyer Silverstein explains. “Throughout our history, the right to
speak out and the right to engage in organized dissent has frequently
been threatened, both subtly and overtly. It was only a few years ago
that the FBI targeted Martin Luther King and actively worked to destroy
the credibility of civil-rights leaders and activists who worked
peacefully and legally for social change. And here in Denver, police
monitored expression of unpopular views as though it were potential
criminal activity.”
