“Our position is we’re not turning over any information,” Ed Hedemann of the local War Resisters League chapter said in a September 22 phone interview.

“This attempt by the city is intended to have a chilling effect on organizing. People will be more afraid to come to meetings and watch what they say when they do come” if the city is successful, he said.

New York police arrested more than 1,800 people during the protests, which involved tens of thousands of people over the course of a week. The city government deployed as many as 10,000 cops during the actions.

The War Resisters League previously turned over to the city three redacted sets of minutes. According to Hedemann, all detail had been deleted from the minutes except for decisions related to the planning of an Aug. 31, 2004, protest. Cops arrested 227 people during that action, for which the group says it had a permit. The city is pursuing a subpoena for the full text of the minutes, including attendance and the content of discussions at the meetings.

Peter Farrell, the city’s attorney, argued that subpoenaing minutes of political organizations is within the framework of the U.S. Constitution. “Planning to engage in unlawful conduct is not protected by the First Amendment,” he insisted.

Hedemann said, “I think this case shows that the First Amendment is good as long as you don’t do anything the government doesn’t like. And then it’s suspended as soon as you appear to be a threat.”

The judge is expected to rule on the request at the end of October.
 
 
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