WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Rhode Island has announced that the Warwick City Council has agreed to let a resident speak during its Sept. 18 meeting after he was escorted out by police during a previous public comment period.
But the organization told Target 12 it plans to see the lawsuit through until it gets “permanent relief” for resident Rob Cote.
Video of the July 17 city council meeting gained the attention of First Amendment advocates after it took Councilwoman Donna Travis less than a minute to decide to kick out Cote.
Cote is seen walking up to the podium and showing a newspaper.
“Just a little about some local politics and I have some official city documents I’d like to share, but first I’d like to congratulate Councilwoman Travis,” Cote said. “Another front page of the Providence Journal.”
Cote was planning to discuss a Providence Journal article about a property dispute involving Travis, but the councilwoman stopped him.
“You will be talking about city government, or you’ll be leaving,” she stated.
There was a brief back-and-forth before Travis called over a police officer, who walked Cote out of the room.
Speaking on behalf of the council, President Steve McAllister reiterated to Target 12 that he could not comment on the matter due to pending litigation.
Travis did not immediately return a request for comment.
According to the ACLU, Cote will be allowed to talk for up to five minutes at the upcoming meeting about the issues he was planning to bring up in July. He will also be able to talk about other city government matters and future meetings during public comment.
In response to the consent order, ACLU attorney Thomas Lyons said in a statement: “We are gratified that we have been able to protect Mr. Cote’s First Amendment rights to speak at City Council meetings.”
While the lawsuit is ongoing, the ACLU said the consent order will remove the need for a hearing to bring in a formal temporary restraining order against the City Council.
Kate Wilkinson (kwilkinson@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
