Gagging Protesters by the Manual

...The document offered advice on how to recruit members for such squads: "The rally squads can include, but are not limited to, college/young Republican organizations, local athletic teams, and fraternities/sororities...

...People who are obviously going to try to disrupt the event can be denied entrance at least to the VIP area between the stage and the main camera platform...

...The rally squad's task is to use their signs and banners as shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform...

...This is the best method for preventing demonstrators...

...Called the "Presidential Advance Manual," this 103-page document from the Office of Presidential Advance lays out the parameters for how to handle protesters at events...

...Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive, is the author of "You Have No Rights...

...The document does contain a warning in bold and underlined, however: "Remember—avoid physical contact with demonstrators...

...The front of their T-shirts had the word Bush with a line drawn through it...

...In a section entitled "Preventing Demonstrators," the document says: "All Presidential events must be ticketed or accessed by a name list...

...Weise had a bumper sticker on her car that said, "No More Blood for Oil...

...It is important to have your volunteers at a checkpoint before the Magnetometers in order to stop a demonstrator from getting into the event...

...After a myriad of stories about people being excluded from events where the President is speaking, now we know that the White House has a policy manual on just how to do so...

...It states: "These squads should be instructed always to look for demonstrators...

...They were arrested on the capitol grounds for wearing T-shirts that said, "Love America, Hate Bush," and "Regime Change Starts at Home...

...In another section, entitled "Preparing for Demonstrators," the document makes clear that the intention is to deprive protesters of the right to be seen or heard by the President: "As always, work with the Secret Service and have them ask the local police department to designate a protest area where demonstrators can be placed, preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route...

...It also advises the advance team to make sure that whatever action is taken to drown out the demonstrators does not "cause more negative publicity than if the demonstrators were simply left alone...

...Always be prepared for demonstrators," says the document, which is dated October 2002 and which the ACLU discovered as part of a new lawsuit...

...That's why she and Young were kicked out of the Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum before Bush spoke...

...Look for signs they may be carrying, and if need be, have volunteers check for folded cloth signs that demonstrators may be bringing...

...If the demonstrators are yelling, rally squads can begin and lead supportive chants to drown out the protestors (USA!, USA!, USA...

...The ACLU obtained this document as part of a lawsuit against Gregory Jenkins, who was director of the White House Office of Presidential Advance...

...When the President attends a public event, the First Amendment does not allow him to speak or listen only to those who agree with him," says Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU of the National Capital Area...

...As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site...

...Public places cannot be 'cleansed' of all dissent just to make the President look popular...

...The document also recommends forming "rally squads" to drown out protesters or block their signs...

...Jeffrey Rank and Nicole Rank were arrested for protesting a Bush event at the West Virginia capitol on July 4, 2004...

...Leslie Weise and Alex Young were hoping to attend a visit Bush made to Denver on March 21, 2005, where he was speaking on Social Security...

...Bringing the suit are two couples that were booted from Presidential events...