Judge says NPS can’t revoke DC protest permit over ’86 47′ flag

A federal judge temporarily blocked the National Park Service (NPS) on Monday from revoking a permit for a 24/7 anti-Trump protest in the nation’s capital over the display of an “86 47” flag.

The Secret Service regards the statement as a potential call for violence against the president, and court documents show federal officers ordered the flag be taken down last week after a shooting outside the White House. The protest is taking place roughly a mile away on NPS land.

“The government seeks to squelch core political speech without any articulable—much less evidentiary—basis for concluding that the speech actually threatens the life or safety of the President,” U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote in his 21-page opinion. 

“On the current record, Defendants have offered no basis to doubt that Plaintiff is engaged in fully protected First Amendment activity,” he continued. 

NPS and the protestors are also sparring over their signs and whether they amount to unprotected obscenity, but Moss hasn’t ruled on that battle yet. In the meantime, the judge blocked NPS from citing the flag to revoke the demonstration permit during the next two........

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