A New Jersey lawyer was kicked out of a town council meeting last week by police for waving an American flag to protest a “stupid” new rule banning the use of so-called “props” during town council meetings.
Local resident and attorney Joel Basoff was ordered to leave an Edison Township Council meeting on Nov. 25 after he pulled out the American flag while addressing city council members, footage obtained by authorities shows. It became clear. New Brunswick today indicates.
Bassoff was one of many angry locals who spoke out during the town meeting's public comment section against the town's new ordinance, which bans the use of all props, including the national flag and even the U.S. Constitution.
“I am raising the American flag to represent our constitutional values,” Basov said during the meeting, as Council President Nishit Patel banged the gavel to issue an official warning.
“It is my constitutional right to do this,” the lawyer continued. “If you get sued, you'll lose. My suggestion to you is to get a second opinion from a competent lawyer because you're wrong.”
“You are disrupting the civility of this meeting by interfering with the speech rights of members of the public, and you must stop this now,” Basov said as other residents cheered. I was furious.
Seconds later, two police officers approached Basov as the city council president demanded that Basov be removed from the chamber.
As Basov agreed to leave the podium, one resident could be heard shouting “shame”.
After the lawyer tried to take his seat again, the city council president ordered the officers to throw him out completely.
Another resident who held up a copy of the U.S. Constitution at the beginning of the meeting was also removed from the meeting.
“For someone to take the Stars and Stripes and the Constitution and consider it a prop is an insult to what the flag is, what it stands for, and what this country is about,” said Marian, another resident. Hennessy told city council members.
“Using the American flag as a prop is disgusting to you.”
Ordinance 2239, the apparent prop ban, was recently enacted to establish rules for civility at often noisy town meetings.
The rules do not specifically ban the American flag or the Constitution, but the council president assured residents during the meeting that such items “are considered not to contribute to the maintenance of order.”
In addition to banning props, the ordinance also limits the amount of time residents can speak to bodies.
