| Two arrested for anti bush tshirt Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/9195274.htmhttp://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/9195274.htm
Posted on Tue, Jul. 20, 2004 City OKs apology to 2 men arrested over T-shirt slogan
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charleston City Council yesterday approved a resolution to apologize to two protesters who were arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts to the president's July 4 rally at the West Virginia Capitol.
Mayor Danny Jones, a Republican, agreed with the resolution written by Councilman Harry Deitzler, a Democrat.
"I don't condemn our police officers, we support our police department," Jones said. "But we regret this happened, and quite frankly we want to put this behind us."
Nicole and Jeff Rank of Corpus Christi, Texas, were removed from the event in restraints after revealing T-shirts with President Bush's name crossed out on the front and the words "Love America, Hate Bush" on the back.
"If Nicole and Jeff Rank did nothing other than peaceably exercise their right of free speech and expression as guaranteed by our Constitutions, they should not have been arrested or charged with a crime," the resolution states. Trespassing charges were dropped Thursday because a city ordinance did not cover trespassing on state grounds.
Jones earlier said the city officers who filed the trespassing charges were acting under the direction of the Secret Service, but a spokesman for the Secret Service denied the agency was involved in the arrests.
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