WASHINGTON -- Rives Grogan was up a tree during President Barack Obama's inauguration. Now he's out on a limb, legally speaking.
The Los Angeles man has been barred from the nation's capital pending his trial on misdemeanor charges stemming from the loud anti-abortion protest he staged while 40 feet up a tree on Inauguration Day. His case has triggered a free speech debate."I've never been banned from a city before," said Grogan, whose mother is from Mansfield.The unusual court order, which bars Grogan from the District of Columbia except for court-related appearances, comes after the anti-abortion activist has been arrested, by his count, more than 30 times.He has shouted from the visitors galleries in the House and Senate chambers, from inside the Supreme Court during its proceedings, from a tree during a vice presidential debate in Kentucky, and as he ran onto the baseball field with an "Abortion is Sin" sign at a Cincinnati Reds home game.He is due to return to D.C. for a Feb. 25 hearing related to his five-hour Inauguration Day protest.The magistrate judge's order, reported by The Washington Post, went beyond the U.S. attorney's request that Grogan be prohibited from the U.S. Capitol grounds.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
