“A U.S. district court judge upheld a decision by the city of St. Paul, Minn., to restrict the route and timing of a parade protesting the Iraq war during the Republican National Convention. Noting that the president, vice president and other political figures are expected to attend the convention, U.S. District Court Judge Joan Erickson wrote Wednesday that security concerns justified the city’s placing some restrictions on the permit for the parade. … The city’s decision to deny protesters the ability to ‘encircle the arena, marching on every route that directly abuts the convention site’ served the substantial government interest of securing the site, Erickson ruled. A coalition of protest groups had filed suit, with the support of the Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing the restrictions violated their First Amendment rights.” (07/17/08)