BOISE, Idaho — City leaders will decide Tuesday whether to amend a controversial noise ordinance that has been used to ticket and arrest protesters using megaphones during demonstrations.
“Sometimes, it’s very just like fundamental logistics. It’s nice if you’re at a big rally for people to be able to hear your speech,” said Lisa Young with the Idaho Sierra Club.
Young says sound amplification devices like megaphones and speakers are a staple at protests, but they’ve seen an uptick in protesters being ticketed and arrested for using them.
“I mean, it was really a nightmare and that’s kind of the point," said Morrighan Nyx, one of those protesters who was ticketed for using a megaphone.
“The point of this is to scare people with the possibility of having to fight a charge in court or have something on their record just for the simple process of wanting to exercise their first amendment rights to speak out," said Nyx.
Idaho News 6 spoke to another person who said they were arrested by Boise Police for using a megaphone at a counter-protest regarding abortion rights.
“We had to start pulling back on some of our work, and we’re really seeing that as a suppression of our freedom of speech," added Young.
The Boise City Council is scheduled to vote on the amendment during its regular meeting as part of a settlement agreement with the Sierra Club, which filed a lawsuit against the city last year claiming the ordinance violated First Amendment rights.
If approved, the amendment would remove restrictions on megaphone use during protests and resolve the federal lawsuit. If rejected, litigation will continue.
The lawsuit, filed a year ago, "asserted that the City's noise ordinance violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." The Sierra Club says that local police have been using the current ordinance to take enforcement action against demonstrators.
The council will vote during its regular weekly meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Boise City Hall. The meeting will also be streamed on the city's YouTube channel.
