Civil rights group sues over petty, vindictive - and unconstitutional - act by Dan McKee
By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, claims the governor violated protesters’ First Amendment rights when his office, without notice, reserved the rotunda just 30 minutes before their planned “People’s State of the State” rally on Jan. 14.
Advocates organized by the now-dissolved Black Lives Matter RI PAC had intended to gather in the rotunda to call on McKee to declare a public health emergency to shelter the state’s growing homeless population over the winter.
But when people started to arrive around 5 p.m., they were met by State and Capitol Police, along with stanchions cordoning off the rotunda stating the space was “reserved for the State of the State through the Department of Administration” from 4:30 to 10 p.m.
The ACLU’s lawsuit claims protesters were threatened with arrest and told that McKee’s office had instructed police to prevent them from accessing the rotunda and upper floors of the State House.
Eric Hirsch, executive director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and one of the lead plaintiffs in the suit, said he was shocked to see a space routinely used for demonstrations and rallies closed to the public.
“This is unacceptable,” Hirsch said in a statement Tuesday. “We have a right to express our view of the governor’s policies toward people experiencing homelessness.”
McKee’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment. A spokesperson told WPRI in February that the space was needed as an “an overflow area” and “safe, alternative means of egress” for the governor’s speech.
The rotunda remained vacant throughout the 2025 State of the State.
“Upon information and belief, the governor and his staff never intended to use the rotunda for any purpose on January 14, 2025, other than to silence any expressive activity,” the lawsuit states.
Advocates were instead told to gather in the “Bell Room” on the first floor, tucked away from the State House’s main entrance and elevators. The ACLU’s lawsuit claims the relocation had undermined demonstrators’ ability to convey their message as intended.
But the relegation to the back only emboldened the demonstrators, whose chanting could be heard within the House chambers during the first hour of McKee’s speech, as they marched around the first floor of the capitol building.
“The more you try to silence us the louder we will be,” they chanted at one point.
The ACLU is asking Chief Judge John McConnell to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting the governor and others from restricting the right of the people to peacefully gather in the State House rotunda based on the content of their speech, along with asking the State and Capitol Police to pay for damages and attorneys’ fees.
To prevent a recurrence, the suit seeks a ruling before the next State of the State address in January 2026.
“Over 50 years ago, an ACLU lawsuit led to a court decision unequivocally declaring the State House rotunda to be an open public forum for the expression of political speech,” Steven Brown, executive director for the ACLU of Rhode Island, said in a statement. “Since that time, the rotunda has served as the epicenter for Rhode Islanders to peacefully express their views to state leaders and the public. This lawsuit is designed to ensure that it remains that way.”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
