Man buys “Give Peace A Chance” t-shirt from a vendor in a mall.
Man wears t-shirt.
Man sits in food court, wearing t-shirt, eating lunch with his son.
Mall security approaches man, tells him he has to either take off the shirt or leave the mall.
Man refuses.
Security calls the local cops, who arrest him for trespass.
Man turns out to be a prominent local lawyer who’s not afraid to talk to the press.
D’oh!
Assuming the facts of the case are as presented …
Malls usually have signs up around them indicating that they are private property and permission to access the mall may be withdrawn at any time, but it’s not clear how enforcable such rules are, especially when you’re dealing with pretty innocuous behavior (not to mention behavior which entailed wearing a shirt that was bought at the mall in question).
Somebody’s going to have egg on their face — if not a law suit — before this is all over.
(via BoingBoing)
Some commentary here on the case, which basically boils down to, “Yeah, they have the right to do that, but it’s pretty stupid of them.” Which seems to be the consensus of the articles I’ve read thus far.
The mall is claiming that it wasn’t a matter of just wearing the shirt.
On the evening of March 3, Crossgates Mall security received a complaint regarding two individuals disrupting customers. The individuals were approached by security because of their actions and interference with other shoppers. Their behavior, coupled with their clothing, to express to others their personal views on world affairs were disruptive of customers.
This’ll be an interesting one to follow. (via InstaPundit, who has various links to info on this)
Here’s the complaint and supporting affidavits, which echo the claim that the pair were stopping and/or disputing with other folks in the mall.
According to this story, the gent in question maintains “he was minding his own business.” In reaction to the original arrest, about a hundred people marched in the mall Wednesday, and met with the mall management.
The story also says this isn’t the first time that security has cracked down on folks wearing peace shirts in recent months.
Stay tuned …
The mall has decided to drop charges. The man wants an apology (maybe) before he decides whether or not to sue.