PORTLAND — A Cumberland County Superior Court judge ruled today that Occupy Maine most likely does not have a First Amendment right to remain camped out in Lincoln Park indefinitely, even though he conceded the encampment itself is political speech.

As a result, the protesters are likely to have until Saturday to remove their tents and clean up the park, city officials said. The city plans tomorrow to issue the protesters an order to leave that will give them at least two days to comply.

Additional Photos

Harry Brown, one of the Occupy Maine demonstrators who has been camping out in Lincoln Park to protest economic inequities, expresses disappointment today in a judge's decision that the demonstrators' extended use of the park interferes with others' ability to use it. Photo by David Hench/Staff Writer

A Dec. 8, 2011, photo of Occupy Maine tents in Lincoln Park, where protesters have been camping since October. AP

In his decision, Justice Thomas Warren said the city’s restrictions on overnight camping in city parks are not an unreasonable infringement of free speech, but are intended to protect health and safety while also ensuring the public resource is not damaged. Allowing Occupy Maine to camp in the park also could prevent others from using it, infringing on their rights.

The demonstrators failed to show that “in order to communicate their message, they are entitled to commandeer a public forum for an extended period in a 24-hour encampment that necessarily excludes other citizens from their customary use of the park,” Warren wrote in his 25-page decision.

Occupy Maine protesters will meet tonight to discuss their next move, including whether to appeal the decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

The city told the Occupy Maine protesters to leave the park on Dec. 15, but officials had said they would not move to evict them until the court case was resolved.

Harry Brown, one of the demonstrators who said he has been camping out since the fall and a plaintiff in the case, said this morning he knew the lawsuit was a long shot but was still disappointed with the news.

“I think it’s a shame that the judge feels what we’re asking for is exclusive rights to this park because it’s not,” Brown said.

“We never excluded anybody from that park and what we’re looking to do is establish this as a zone for all citizens, Occupy Maine or others, to feel they can come out any time, day or night.”

Occupy Maine has been the state’s only demonstration allied with the Occupy Wall Street movement that hasn’t dissolved.

A group that camped in Augusta’s Capitol Park lost a fight in federal court, and a group that camped outside the Bangor Public Library left at the library’s request.

Related Stories