Burnsville, MN: man charged for honking-for-peace.

[Eric J in MN]

Man faces 90 days in jail for honking in support of protest against Congressman

by Bjorn in MN

Sun Sep 13, 2009 at 08:12:51 PM PDT

Yesterday one of my friends learned that he was facing three months in jail and a $1,000 fine. His crime? Improper use of a car horn. You may think that people don't go to jail for honking their car horns, you may think that there must be an additional charge on top of the honking offense because we have all heard people use their car horns in non-emergency situations but most of us have never heard of a person going to jail for such an offense. There are no other charges however, the only charge against him in the police report is that he was "honking the vehicle's horn repeatedly approximately five to ten times."

If you have ever honked when you drove past a wedding or sounded the horn when you wanted to capture the attention of someone you knew who was walking down the street then you have committed the exact same crime they are charging my friend with, but I am guessing you never thought about the possibility that people who honk in celebration of a wedding would face serious jail time. You don't need to worry about such a possibility because the idea that the state would use their resources to lock people up for honking outside a wedding is absurd, but my friend was not honking outside a wedding he honked in support of protesters outside the office of a powerful Republican Congressman while he was driving to a parking spot so he could join the protest.

For almost two years now protesters have gathered at 4:30 every Tuesday afternoon in Burnsville, MN to hold a peace vigil on the corner of Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway. One of the buildings at this intersection houses the office of Republican Congressman John Kline, a man who showed great loyalty to the Bush agenda from the time of his arrival in Congress in 2002 and as a result of that loyalty he achieved a prominent position in his party. While Kline is not the most well known Republican member of Congress he holds a great deal of influence behind the scenes with his seats on the Intelligence and Education and Labor Committees, and those committees make him the most powerful Republican in Minnesota's congressional delegation.

Kline has never been good about holding public town hall meetings to listen to his constituents, but the Burnsville peace vigil has ensured that every week the people working inside John Kline's office are reminded that many of his constituents oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he has been a major supporter of. Not only do they see the people participating in the protest directly but they also hear hundreds of honks from the people who drive by that support ending the wars, and they have no doubt wished that we would go away.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/13/781654/-Man-faces-90-days-in-jail-for-honking-in-support-of-protest-against-Congressman

[MineralMan]

1. In all seriousness, nobody's going to jail.

It ain't happening. Will there be a fine? Probably not. Much ado about not much, if you ask me.

[dflprincess]

2. It may all depend on the judge.

Much ado about nothing? Sure, but why did the Burnsville police even waste time ticketing the guy? You'd think they had better things to do.

[MineralMan]

3. Yes, it will depend on the judge.

As for why the cop ticketed the guy, who knows? Maybe he had an argument with his wife a few minutes before. Honking is illegal except as a warning to other motorists. I don't like honking as a "You Go!" message. It annoys people and can lead to accidents when people hear it and look around for the reason for the horn. That's why it's against the law to honk except when necessary as a warning.

So, he goes before the traffic court judge and takes his chances. That's how it works. If it's a bad law, work to change it. A blaring horn is not speech. It is just noise. Want to support a cause? Grab a sign and stand out there on the street.

[Bjorn Against]

5. This man is a regular participant in our vigil

He does stand on the street and participate with us, that is probably the reason he was targeted. All past legal precedent suggests this is free speech, and the Burnsville Police themselves signed a consent decree explicitly stating that they would not ticket people for honking unless there was a public safety issue, there was no public safety concerns in this instance as it happened while he was stopped at a traffic light. This man was targeted based on his politics and the police have not enforced this law equally and we can prove it, there is a reason the ACLU is so interested in this case because they have seen the evidence and they know this is a political prosecution.

[MineralMan]

6. Good. If that's the case, the ACLU will make sure he doesn't

get fined or go to jail. I still maintain that horn honking is a bad idea. I'm a big fan of civil disobedience, but those who do that must be prepared to go to jail for it. That's part of the deal. Mr. Thoreau told us how that worked.

Every time I've engaged in civil disobedience, and that has been often, I've always been ready to be arrested and jailed. If you're not, you should not engage in such behavior.

I consider honking in support as a non-supportive action. It annoys some of the very people you need to convince. Your opinion may differ.

[Bjorn Against]

8. I could see your point if they enforced the same law outside football games

The problem here is that this is a law that was not enforced even once before they started pulling people over for honking at our vigil. We filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all police records going back a decade and they showed that not even one person received a ticket for honking outside a football game, a wedding or anywhere else. Once we pointed out this precedent they ticketed a couple people just to bolster their argument, but you can't establish a precedent after the fact. None of the other drivers ticketed received any threat of jail time, it was only the person who was participating in our vigil that received a threat of jail. That is not equal enforcement of the law, and it is completely unconstitutional.

[MineralMan]

7. Sorry, but how annoying for the other motorists stuck at that red

light...

I doubt they developed a sympathy for those who were demonstrating. I know that being honked at at traffic lights is a major annoyance to me. It's an occasion for anger at the honker. You know the purpose of the honking. Do Ole and Lena on their way to the supermarket know? What do you think?

In our activism, we need to consider whether our actions are having the effect we desire. In this case, I'd suggest that the action did not achieve its goal. Food for thought.

"it happened while he was stopped at a traffic light."

[Bjorn Against]

10. Have you ever been to a protest?

We did not set the precedent of honking at protests, every single protest that I have been to that took place near a road has received a large number of honks. People honk at football games and weddings as well, it is tradition. You may not like that tradition but we didn't start it, it has been around for decades.

[MineralMan]

12. What is this? He started it?

I do not care one whit that people honk at protesters. That's irrelevant. My point is that it does more harm than good in almost all cases. A honking car horn is an occasion for annoyance in almost every situation. Annoying people you might convert to your cause is just plain stupid. Multiple honks at a red light is simply egregious annoyance. If the guy gets a fine, then he should just apologize and pay it. There will be no question of jail time.

As for your question, does walking across the Edmund Pettus bridge with a crowd of people count? How about standing in the front line of protesters at the Pentagon in my USAF uniform? I've been doing this since 1963.

Every protest requires thought. Not all protests are effective. Honking horns are never effective. They annoy people who might otherwise be converted to your cause. John Kline is a moron of the first water. But he's not the only one occupying the building in front of which you were protesting.

[Bjorn Against]

4. This is an assault on free speech, that is not much ado about nothing

I am the person who wrote the post linked to in the OP so I know this case very well, the fact is that people normally don't face jail time for honking and they are clearly prosecuting my friend for political reasons. He has to get a lawyer, he has to go to court, and even if the charges are dropped his rights will have been violated. It is unconstitutional for the police to prosecute based on politics. They aren't threatening teenagers who honk after their team wins a football game with jail time, they aren't trying to lock up people who honk outside weddings, this is harassment and intimidation and it is unconstitutional even if they eventually drop the charges.

[MineralMan]

9. I've commented above. You can read my opinion there.

Nobody's going to jail. Not for honking. Histrionics do not make for a good activist action. You may disagree, but I've been doing this for decades, and annoying people you're trying to convince is not productive in any way.

I take it this happened in a commercial district. Bad move. The signs and the vigil-keepers are great. The honking? Not so much. Effective action requires careful thought as to whom you are affecting.

Sorry, but this tactic is stupid.

[Bjorn Against]

11. Do you think police should prosecute more people after football games?

This is about unequal enforcement of the law, it is unconstitutional whether anyone goes to jail or not.

This "tactic" is a very basic political protest, people always honk at protests so if you think this is a stupid tactic you are essentially arguing that any protest that takes place anywhere near a road is stupid. Should unions stop picketing when they go on strike? They get honks too.

[MineralMan]

13. You're equating a political protest with a football game?

Education is the goal. Annoying undecided people is not a good way to do that. Honking multiple times while stopped at a red light is childish and stupid. How does that advance your cause? Does it not diminish your efforts to educate?

All laws are enforced selectively. All laws. This person deliberately honked his horn multiple times while stopped at a traffic light? What do you suppose the person in front of him thought? The guy on the intersecting street? Do you really think they were thinking that they should support the cause of the sign-holders? I guarantee that they were not. Instead, the horn honking benefited your cause in no way, other than to make the sign-holders go woohoo!

Horn laws are designed for a purpose. That purpose is to restrict the use of the automobile horn as a warning device. Yes, it's nice when people signal their approval of your protest, but that does not obviate the excessive use of that alarm signal.

Effective actions require thought. None was used in this situation.

[Bjorn Against]

14. It is UNCONSTITUTIONAL to enforce laws selectively based on politics

I am not "equating a political protest with a football game", I am saying that they can not enforce laws selectively based on politics because it is unconstitutional to do so. Period.

If they are going to threaten people with jail time for honking at protests then they are REQUIRED to enforce the law the same way in non-political situations. I hope you are ready to see your friends and family dragged before a judge and threatened with jail time, because I would be very surprised if you don't have friends who honk in non-emergency situations.

I am glad you have participated in protests, I just hope nobody honked at you during those protests because I would hate to think you are participating in activities which result in illegal use of the horn.

[MineralMan]

17. No, nobody honked their horn in Selma or at the Pentagon...

Instead, there were policemen with dogs in Selma and armed men at the Pentagon. Not much horn-honking.

I'm just trying to give you some food for thought here. You can accept it or reject it. That's completely up to you.

[Bjorn Against]

18. Fair enough, I will just suggest that if you are ever in town you observe our vigil sometime

Thank you for being at Selma and the Pentagon.

Before you dismiss the effectiveness of our demonstration I would suggest you observe it sometime, because I think you would see we are much more effective than you may think. We get a very positive response and the only time I have been told by people who support our cause that they think our tactics are ineffective are on internet forums like this. No one who has actually witnessed our vigil that supports us tells us we are ineffective, of course the right-wingers tell us we are ineffective but considering the recent history of the Republican Party I think it is pretty clear that they have no clue about what is effective.

Seriously, if you are ever in the Twin Cities area on a Tuesday evening stop by and see the response we get for yourself I think you will change your mind if you actually see what goes on.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

15. Kline is holding a Town Hall this Friday in Lakeville

From an email message I received:

"Hearing from you, the men and women I represent, is critical to my ability to represent you effectively. Over the past few weeks, literally thousands of constituents have shared with me their concerns with a proposal to shift control of health care to the federal government.

In the wake of the President’s remarks on health care reform to a rare joint session of Congress last week, I am adding a live town hall meeting to the many forums in which I have reached out to hear the views and concerns of you, my constituents in Minnesota’s Second District. The town hall meeting will be from 6:30-8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, at the Lakeville South High School in Lakeville."

Not sure if he will be there or participating from elsewhere.

[annm4peace]

16. Burnsville PD sure know how to waste Tax Payer's dollars

I've been on that corner.. no one seems surprised by the honking.

The Burnsville PD are just bowing down to the tea baggers and Rep Klines office.

They just try to find was to harass those exercising freedom of speech.


They are just bitter cause a Democrat won the election. People honk all over this state.

With serious crimes going on, what a shame Burnsville PD is wasting tax dollars on filming those who honk their horns, and in the courts time.