LOS ANGELES — Last night, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California filed an emergency lawsuit on behalf of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and individuals challenging the draconian, unconstitutional curfews imposed to crack down on protests against systemic police violence toward Black people. Less than 24 hours later, the curfews targeted by the lawsuit in the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and the City of San Bernardino all ended.
Please attribute the following quote to Ahilan Arulanantham, senior counsel at the ACLU SoCal:
“We are pleased that the County and City of Los Angeles and City of San Bernardino have rescinded their curfews so that the crucial demonstrations to stop police violence and allow Black people to live with dignity can continue. We are also grateful that people throughout L.A. County and San Bernardino can now go outside and live their lives at night without fear of arrest for violating curfew. We hope that other cities and counties in Southern California and around the country will also allow protesters and others to exercise their constitutional rights free from interference in this important moment.”
Please attribute the following quote to Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM-LA:
“There was no curfew on the murder of George Floyd, no arrests until we decried his merciless death, no statements of support until people flooded the streets around the world demanding justice. We have the right to march, we have the right to speak out, and not just on the government’s timetable.”
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