A federal judge has ruled in favor of Occupy Eugene activists who were evicted from a downtown plaza two years ago during a months-long protest.
Judge Michael McShane ruled Wednesday that General Services Administration officials wrongly restricted protesters' First Amendment rights when they limited what had been an around-the-clock protest outside the Federal Building. Attorney Lauren Regan represents Occupy protesters. She says the judge told the GSA it can't restrict political action during certain hours.
Regan: "We argued that in fact constitutional rights do not go away at 5 p.m. or 10 p.m. and that the right to protest whether it is a war or homelessness or the environment is an absolute, integral constitutional right that must be defended and upheld."
Despite his ruling in favor of the group, the judge disagreed with Occupy Eugene's assertion that it was targeted because of its message.
