Stopping Violence or Free Speech?

The other day I shared my experiences on the trip to CR to protest Cecile Richards appearance at Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa's 30th Anniversary celebration. (Not that PP is ever anything to celebrate.) Yesterday Eric Scheidler shared the rest of the story on the Pro-Life Action League website.

1 of the things I mentioned in the post was the way PP painted us a violent threat that required the FBI etc. They knew full well we weren't. But that claim enabled them to justify their hassling us & attempting to silence us, stopping us from exercising our 1st amendment free speech rights.

That speech was the real threat. They knew that we were going to present the truth about who really perpetrated violence. & against whom that violence ws being perpetrating. & that was a truth that PP doesn't want out there, that they are mass murderers.

As a part of his post Eric Scheidler shares what he had to go through in order to place the signs where they were needed to be. Here is that part of his post, follow the link for the rest of the post.

Planned Parenthood Exposed as “Abortion, Inc.” in Cedar Rapids
Posted by Eric Scheidler (May 27, 2010 at 1:58 pm)

Police and FBI Descend on Protest Preparations
We placed our first two Warning signs with such dispatch that we found ourselves a few minutes ahead of schedule by the time we pulled up to the Cedar Rapids Marriott, where Richards was speaking, to unload a stockpile of signs with my son Nate. He was to wait there during the rally several blocks away and begin deploying the signs as volunteers arrived.

We were going to need those extra minutes to readjust. After placing the third Warning sign down the block, we began dropping more signs off at another corner of the Marriott when several police vans descended on Nate’s position a block away. He called me to say the police were threatening to arrest him if he didn’t move his signs off the Marriott property.
Before I could advise Nate, a police van backed down the block to where I was and two officers got out. One of them came up to my window and said she was with the FBI. She said that all the surrounding businesses had “issued trespass warnings” and that the police would be observing a “zero tolerance” policy: anyone on private property would be warned once, then arrested.
I didn’t mention that this sounded more like a “one tolerance” policy, but said I didn’t think we’d have a problem with that and I’d disseminate the information. I was also ordered by a Lieutenant to stay off of Park Place Lane, which he said was a private road.

League Team Quickly Adjusts as Police Impede Protest Plans
This would be a significant hindrance to our plans. Not only had I been intending to line Park Place Lane with signs, but it was the artery connecting the north and south sides of the Marriott protest.
What’s more, the police had been apprised by letter a week in advance exactly where we intended to hold signs—ample time to inform us of any problems. I do not know why they chose to ignore that letter.

However, this was not the time to get into an argument with the police, who were behaving with unusual aggression. I assured them we were there to protest peacefully and would be able to work within their guidelines.
The rest of the team was unloading signs during this exchange, as the police could plainly see. Despite my cooperation, the moment I was finished talking to the officers, warning came over the loud speaker of one of the police vehicles that I must get off Park Place Lane immediately or get a citation. I managed to get the rest of the crew—minus Jerry, who was staying with the signs—back in the van before they followed through on this threat.
In my absence, Nate dealt expertly with the officers down at his end of the block, moving the signs a few feet to an acceptable location in the public right-of-way. Meanwhile, Matt and I drove off to place the final warning sign and quickly revised our plans for the protest to factor out the forbidden road.

. . . . . .

Group Splits for March to Protest Site
Thanks to our being banned from setting foot on Park Place Lane, we had no choice but to split the protest group in two, with half walking around the block to the protest site on the north side of the Marriott and the other half walking through the park to the south side of the hotel. This meant splitting the staff, too—which in turn compromised safety as Ann Scheidler, leading the north-side group, had to deal with an extremely short walk signal crossing the very busy Collins Road. Police did not help in any way. All too true. They were busy telling us we couldn't cross at other corners that didn't have a signal light. As well as being sure we knew exactly where we could or couldn't stand.
As the two-pronged march got underway, I jumped in my van to drive around the protest site. I was pleased to see League staff—Nate with the north group, Matt with the south—quickly deploying signs as volunteers began to arrive. The protest was proceeding beautifully, despite all the disruption caused by the police and FBI.
While driving around the protest area, I discovered that one of our Warning signs had been placed face-down on the parkway. It clearly hadn’t blown down, because the sandbag had been put on top of it. I decided it would be best to take that sign down.

I have no problem with the police being there. & if a business wants to keep potential customers off their property, well, that is their right. It is their property. But, PP clearly knew we were no violent threat. As I already said, the real threat we posed was to their false veneer that they present to the world. Never doubt that this was all an attempt to harrass us & silence us.

I thank God for the fact that this protest was organized by the able hands of Eric Scheidler & his family. Their years of experience enabled them to adapt & ensure that we were able to get the message out despite all the attempts to stop us.

If you haven't figured out by now, the Pro-Life Action League is truly a family affair. It is a labor of love that extends over 3 generations. Their efforts over the years have earned them the emnity of PP because they have done all they can to stop PP from spreading their lies.

The day after coming to CR they won a major court victory in Illinois. (Court Victory Moves Aurora Planned Parenthood Zoning Lawsuit Forward) "The suit involves the building of the “Abortion Fortress” of Aurora in 2007 when Planned Parenthood entered the city under a cloud of deception.
Planned Parenthood presented itself to the city as a general use medical facility under the name Gemini Office Development and told the city council point blank that they didn’t know what tenants would be occupying the building. They represented the project as a general use, for-profit medical building that might house dentists or family doctors. (Big Victory in Aurora, Illinois Planned Parenthood Zoning Case)

What the final outcome will be is yet to be determined. But you can be sure PP isn't too happy that their shady dealings won't be allowed to go unexamined. So you can see why PP is doing all it can to smear, libel & slander those who dare to try & get the truth out. & esp why they see the Scheidlers as a huge threat to their plans.