“This law,” writes Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano, “permits Secret Service agents to designate any place they wish as a place where free speech, association and petition of the government are prohibited. And it permits the Secret Service to make these determinations based on the content of speech.”
“Thus, federal agents whose work is to protect public officials and their friends may prohibit the speech and the gatherings of folks who disagree with those officials or permit the speech and the gatherings of those who would praise them, even though the First Amendment condemns content-based speech discrimination by the government.”
Even worse, Napolitano points out, “The new law also provides that anyone who gathers in a ‘restricted’ area may be prosecuted. And because the statute does not require the government to prove intent, a person accidentally in a restricted area can be charged and prosecuted, as well.”
So... you can run afoul of this law even if you’re a “law-abiding” Tea Partier.
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