November 24, 2005
"Martial-law
zone" suit heads to trial
By
DENNIS HUSPENI THE GAZETTE
For the third time this
year, a federal judge has rejected Colorado Springs’ request to dismiss
a lawsuit over its security zone at a NATO conference.
U.S. Magistrate Michael Watanabe ruled Tuesday that the Jan. 23 trial of Brian
Hildenbrandt vs. the City of Colorado Springs will go forward after he denied
the city’s motion for summary judgment.
Hildenbrandt was arrested by Colorado Springs police during the October 2003 NATO
conference at The Broadmoor hotel. Police said he and a friend, Curt Curtis, crossed
the barrier into a security zone and charged them with trespassing. Both denied
crossing the barrier, and the charges were later dropped by the city attorney
for lack of evidence.
The Black Forest resident contends his arrest violated his First Amendment rights,
and that city officials let the military establish a “martiallaw zone”
around the hotel. He filed the federal civil rights lawsuit in June 2004.
City attorneys argued that another federal judge ruled in July that police were
within their rights to bar peace activists — Citizens for Peace in Space
— from protesting inside the secure zone, and Hildenbrandt’s lawsuit
should be dismissed on the same grounds.
Watanabe disagreed.
“The court finds that the issue Plaintiff is raising in this action is not
the same issue,” Watanabe wrote. “Plaintiff in this action never sought
to demonstrate inside the security zone, and, in fact, objects to the whole concept
of a temporary security zone excluding him from public streets.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0110