ACLU fights for park access for Asheville activists banned after homeless advocacy protest
The ACLU of North Carolina has filed a request to let 15 people banned from Asheville city parks back into the areas while their case is heard.
By Web Staff
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — The ACLU of North Carolina has filed a request to let 15 people banned from Asheville city parks back into the areas while their case is heard.
The 15 were charged with felony littering following a Christmas 2021 protest in Aston Park demanding shelter for the city’s homeless population.
The city then banned them from Asheville parks for three years.
The ACLU said the plaintiffs regularly volunteer their support and resources to unhoused people in Asheville and the ban is preventing that.
“These bans have prevented plaintiffs from continuing their work supporting Asheville’s unhoused community members and from speaking out about issues that they are invested in and impacted by, based on criminal charges that for most Plaintiffs are still pending,” Muneeba Talukder, staff attorney for the ACLU of North Carolina, said in a news release. “Instead of addressing Asheville’s growing housing crisis, the city has chosen to remove the voices that hold them accountable from some of the only public forums in the city.”
The city said it plans to file an objection to the request for an injunction in the coming days.
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