War protestors claim Crawford camping ban restricts free speech News
War protestors claim Crawford camping ban restricts free speech

[JURIST] A federal lawsuit was filed against McLennan County, Texas [government website] Monday by three war protestors claiming that new county ordinances prohibiting roadside parking and camping interferes with their ability to gather outside President Bush's Crawford ranch. Plaintiffs Richard Underhill, Benjamin Hart Viges, and Sherry Glover, who are represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project [official website], are seeking an injunction and unspecified damages [press release], claiming the ordinances limit free speech and are too broad and vague for consistent enforcement. Local officials claim the ordinances, which prohibit parking on 14 roads surrounding the ranch and camping in ditches, are necessary to reduce traffic. The plaintiffs expect to violate the ordinance over the holiday weekend as they join the Thanksgiving protest of peace activist Cindy Sheehan [Wikipedia profile] outside the ranch. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Ku Klux Klan founded

The US hate group known as the Ku Klux Klan was founded on December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a reaction to reconstruction efforts following the Union victory in the American Civil War. The group would later become notorious for its attacks on Black Americans, being targeted by the Enforcement Act of 1871, which imposed civil and criminal liability for deprivation of constitutional rights. Read the Enforcement Act of 1871.  

Hamid Karzai born

On December 24, 1957, Hamid Karzai was born in Karz, Afghanistan. He would go on to become in 2004 his country's first elected president after the end of Taliban rule in 2001.