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At 4:30 a.m. on March 12, 2020, a Montgomery County SWAT team executed a no-knock warrant at the residence of Duncan Lemp. The warrant, which was based on an anonymous tip, authorized the seizure of firearms that were alleged to be illegally possessed by Lemp, a software engineer and Second Amendment advocate. In the course of storming the residence, police shot and killed Lemp. Although a statement by county officials about the incident asserted that police announced themselves and fired their weapons after Lemp confronted them, Lemp’s girlfriend, who was with him at the time, refuted the claim, insisting that police did not announce themselves and that Lemp was shot while lying in bed. Because of these and other inconsistencies and omissions from the County’s account of the raid, Lemp’s family has demanded that the County produce evidence relating to the raid, such as the warrant application and police body-cam footage. However, officials have not produced the requested materials and have refused to respond to press inquiries. Access to records relating to the warrant have also been blocked by a seal order and then by court closures resulting from the COVID-19 public health orders.
Because of their inability to obtain information about the shooting, Lemp’s family, friends and supporters planned to hold a public demonstration to protest police violence and the County’s lack of transparency. After monitoring the Lemp family’s social media and learning of their plans to protest the shooting, County officials reportedly warned Lemp’s family that any planned protest would violate the Governor’s “stay at home” orders and could result in imprisonment of up to one year and a $5000 fine. Pointing out that engaging in First Amendment activities in compliance with “social distancing” guidelines poses no greater risk to public health than other activities allowed under Gov. Hogan’s orders limiting gatherings, Rutherford Institute attorneys have warned County officials that their preemptive attempts to shut down the protest constitute an abuse of authority that imposes an unwarranted chill on the exercise of First Amendment rights.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, educates the public about threats to their freedoms, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated, and strives to make the government play by the rules of the Constitution.
The Rutherford Institute’s letter to Maryland officials cautioning them against weaponizing Covid-19 restrictions in order to squelch lawful dissent is available at www.rutherford.org.
Source: https://bit.ly/2Ktyw3B
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