ACLU of RI sues McKee alleging denial of access to regularly used State House rally area

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorneys for the ACLU of Rhode Island have filed a lawsuit against RI Governor Dan McKee, alleging the governor’s office explicitly told state and capitol police to bar protesters from accessing the State House rotunda and upper floors.

The rally was planned to take place in the rotunda an hour before McKee’s January 2025 State of the State address.

The event was to be attended by local groups including Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and by activist Harrison Tuttle.

Tuttle was the President of the now dissolved Rhode Island Black Lives Matter PAC at the time.

The suit claims that Tuttle and fellow protesters arrived to be told that McKee’s office instructed police from letting them enter.

Tuttle was told by police that he in particular was not allowed to enter the areas, according to the suit.

The suit also claims that other people were allowed to access those areas of the State House.

The suit states that the rotunda is commonly used by protesters, and that its entrance was blocked off by capitol and state police.

A sign accompanied the officers that said the rotunda was reserved from 4:30-10 p.m., and the governor’s office didn’t reserve the area until 4:39 p.m., according to records cited by the ACLU of RI.

The protesters were directed by police to the “Bell Room” for their event, which is a less visible area in the back of the State House’s first floor, according to the suit.

The ACLU of RI statement reads in part:

In any event, despite being ‘reserved,’ the rotunda was not used for any purpose during that timeframe. The lawsuit argues that the Governor’s reservation of the space and the Capitol and State Police’s actions were undertaken to stifle the protesters’ exercise of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Executive director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project Eric Hirsch, a participant in the suit stated:

I’ve been advocating for an end to homelessness in Rhode Island for a long time. I was shocked to see the Rotunda at the Statehouse roped off when I arrived for the People’s State of the State rally. I had attended dozens of rallies there over the years. To make matters worse, we were also prevented from getting anywhere near the Governor’s address. We were confined to a lower floor of the Statehouse. This is unacceptable. We have a right to express our view of the Governor’s policies toward people experiencing homelessness.

ABC6 has reached out to the office of Governor Dan McKee for comment in this matter but has not yet heard back.