ASHWAUBENON, WI – Hannah Lundin organized a Black Lives Matter march in the Village of Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.
In public events involving marches, police officers are typically present to perform traffic duties to let the marchers pass through safely. Those officers have to be paid. Event organizers are typically charged for the extra costs incurred so the village does not have to bear them.
But in this case, the organizer, Lundin, is unhappy to be told to pay up.
Protest is free speech protected under the First Amendment. Green Bay/Ashwaubenon billed/fined a woman for organizing peaceful #BLM protests. Please sign the petition on OrganizeFor with @ColorOfChange. #O4 https://t.co/noHIW1uVFP via @ColorOfChange
— EvolutionMetalStudio (@EvoMetalStudio) August 21, 2020
Lundin organized the Black Lives Matter march. It was held on July 14. The group was fairly small, just under 25, but the marchers blocked traffic in the area for at least two hours.
The village had to utilize police and law enforcement from other areas to come into the village and assist with traffic control.
The village said it incurred an additional $763 in costs because of the march, and does not feel the village should be obligated to cover it. As a result, the village sent the bill to Lundin, who, even though she caused the need for the charge, does not feel she should have to cover it.
Ashwaubenon Public Safety Commander Nick Kozloski explained the village’s stance in a letter. Kozlosk said:
“In the interest of fairness and equity, this invoice is being sent out. Other entities who utilize police services to redirect traffic such as Cellcom Marathon or Bellin Half-Marathon are also billed, and your event should be no different.”
Village President May Kardoskee spoke about the invoice, saying:
“We’re not treating her [Lundin] any different than we would treat anybody else that had come in to do an event in the village where we had to close off streets. We invoiced her just like we would invoice anybody else.”
Village officials said that they might not have even needed to invoice Lundin, had the protesters adhered to the village’s rules and kept the roadways open.
The officials said that police had notified those who attended the march to keep the roadway open at all times and to stay on the sidewalk. They also handed out copies of the town’s rules to those in attendance, but those rules were disobeyed.
Lundin apparently believes that the rules of the village that apply to everyone else should not apply to her or to the members of Black Lives Matter. Lundin said:
“Sending me an invoice for getting together a protest to support Black Lives Matter – that to me is a direct statement of ‘we are not in support of this movement and we don’t want to see any change for the Black community.’”
Lundin said:
“[I believe the invoice] was a direct reflection of their opinion and views on this movement and this cause. I realized throughout this process and talking to people that this is also an administration decision, not just the police. … I can say that and give them some slack that I don’t think this was solely their decision at the end of the day.”
Lundin and her fiancé say that they have organized several Black Lives Matter protests in Ashwaubenon and other local areas since the death of George Floyd in police custody in May of this year and have not been charged until now. She said:
“I’ve done eight total protests that we’ve organized under #Bust the Silence. This is the only one that I was actually invoiced for.”
Lundin added:
“I won’t be silenced, and I hope that our community will not be silenced either. This is only momentum and force to keep pushing the cause.”
While this may be the only invoice she has received, it is not the only time that Lundin has been fined recently for these events. On Aug. 28, Lundin was given a traffic citation for obstructing traffic regarding an event that occurred on July 28 in the city of Howard. She is challenging that citation and has requested a court hearing regarding it. The hearing is set to be held in September.
After receiving the invoice, Lundin decided to throw another event in Ashwaubenon. Instead of the roughly 25 people who showed up last time, attendance dropped down to around 20.
Despite the small turnout to support her cause, she told the Green Bay Press-Gazette:
“I have all the confidence in the world that our community will come together and we will make a big enough impact to let them know that our community stands behind our black community members and that we will fight this until they decide to take it back.”
What Lundin, and those like her, fail to take into consideration are the additional costs that a city, town or village incurs to facilitate their protests.
Additional off-duty officers must come in and help with shutting down roadways and providing security. These officers usually make overtime, or some type of special assignment pay to compensate them for having to give up their days off to come in and work.
There are additional costs as well for public works employees who have to ensure that there are places for the people to use the restroom. They also have to clean up the streets after any public event as trash is usually just thrown on the ground and discarded.
These additional costs are just some examples and not all-encompassing for any public event. These costs have to be paid and they are typically paid by the event organizer so as not to put a heavier burden on local taxpayers.
But apparently, normal rules do not apply to Lundin and those with her line of thinking, such as a teenager in New Jersey who was billed in the same manner.
In Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 18-year-old Emily Gil organized a similar Black Lives Matter protest which drew roughly 30 people in July. The event caused an increase of police presence in order to ensure the safety of everyone who participated.
As is normal with events like these, it caused an increase in overtime and the city sent Gil the bill, amounting to $2,499.26.
Emily Gil, 18, of Englewood Cliffs received a letter from the mayor looking for payment of $2,499.26. https://t.co/qnvg3D9oYI
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) August 29, 2020
Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac explained his reason for the bill:
“As with any privately-sponsored event that takes place in the borough requiring police safety, an invoice was sent to the organizer for police overtime since it would be unfair to require our residents to financially support a private event.”
After receiving significant criticism from the media and from Democratic leaders in the city, the Republican mayor reversed course. He said:
“I have researched the issue further with my own counsel and I am hereby rescinding the bill, subject to our Council’s ratification of my action. I always want to make certain that everyone’s Constitutional Rights are fully respected.”
To the best of our knowledge, the village of Ashwaubenon hasn’t likewise rescinded its invoice to Lundin. Yet. We’ll see what happens.
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