[NYTr] Bush Regime Manual Details How to Deal with Protesters

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by rick kissell

The Washington Post - Aug 22, 2007

White House Manual Details How to Deal With Protesters

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer

Not that they're worried or anything. But the White House evidently 
leaves little to chance when it comes to protests within eyesight of
the president. As in, it doesn't want any.

A White House manual that came to light recently gives presidential 
advance staffers extensive instructions in the art of "deterring 
potential protestors" from President Bush's public appearances around 
the country.

Among other things, any event must be open only to those with tickets 
tightly controlled by organizers. Those entering must be screened in 
case they are hiding secret signs. Any anti-Bush demonstrators who 
manage to get in anyway should be shouted down by "rally squads" 
stationed in strategic locations. And if that does not work, they
should be thrown out.

But that does not mean the White House is against dissent -- just so 
long as the president does not see it. In fact, the manual outlines a 
specific system for those who disagree with the president to voice
their views. It directs the White House advance staff to ask local
police "to designate a protest area where demonstrators can be placed,
preferably not in the view of the event site or motorcade route."

The "Presidential Advance Manual," dated October 2002 with the stamp 
"Sensitive -- Do Not Copy," was released under subpoena to the American 
Civil Liberties Union as part of a lawsuit filed on behalf of two
people arrested for refusing to cover their anti-Bush T-shirts at a
Fourth of July speech at the West Virginia State Capitol in 2004. The
techniques described have become familiar over the 6 1/2 years of
Bush's presidency, but the manual makes it clear how organized the
anti-protest policy really is.

The lawsuit was filed by Jeffery and Nicole Rank, who attended the 
Charleston event wearing shirts with the word "Bush" crossed out on the 
front; the back of his shirt said "Regime Change Starts at Home," while 
hers said "Love America, Hate Bush." Members of the White House event 
staff told them to cover their shirts or leave, according to the 
lawsuit. They refused and were arrested, handcuffed and briefly jailed 
before local authorities dropped the charges and apologized. The
federal government settled the First Amendment case last week for
$80,000, but with no admission of wrongdoing.

The manual demonstrates "that the White House has a policy of excluding 
and/or attempting to squelch dissenting viewpoints from presidential 
events," said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Miller. "Individuals should have the 
right to express their opinion to the president, even if it's not a 
favorable one."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that he could not discuss the 
manual because it is an issue in two other lawsuits.

The manual offers advance staffers and volunteers who help set up 
presidential events guidelines for assembling crowds. Those invited
into a VIP section on or near the stage, for instance, must be "
extremely supportive of the Administration," it says. While the Secret
Service screens audiences only for possible threats, the manual says,
volunteers should examine people before they reach security checkpoints
and look out for signs. Make sure to look for "folded cloth signs," it
advises.

To counter any demonstrators who do get in, advance teams are told to 
create "rally squads" of volunteers with large hand-held signs,
placards or banners with "favorable messages." Squads should be placed
in strategic locations and "at least one squad should be 'roaming' 
throughout the perimeter of the event to look for potential problems," 
the manual says.

"These squads should be instructed always to look for demonstrators,"
it says. "The rally squad's task is to use their signs and banners as 
shields between the demonstrators and the main press platform. If the 
demonstrators are yelling, rally squads can begin and lead supportive 
chants to drown out the protesters (USA!, USA!, USA!). As a last
resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event site."

Advance teams are advised not to worry if protesters are not visible to 
the president or cameras: "If it is determined that the media will not 
see or hear them and that they pose no potential disruption to the 
event, they can be ignored. On the other hand, if the group is carrying 
signs, trying to shout down the President, or has the potential to
cause some greater disruption to the event, action needs to be taken 
immediately to minimize the demonstrator's effect."

The manual adds in bold type: "Remember -- avoid physical contact with 
demonstrators! Most often, the demonstrators want a physical 
confrontation. Do not fall into their trap!" And it suggests that 
advance staff should "decide if the solution would cause more negative 
publicity than if the demonstrators were simply left alone."

The staff at the West Virginia event may have missed that line.