The ACLU of Massachusetts and the National Lawyers Guild, together with cooperating attorney Howard Cooper from the law firm Todd & Weld, have filed suit to preemptively prevent the kind of police raid that we've witnessed in Portland, OR, Oakland, CA, and New York City this week from happening at Occupy Boston in Dewey Square. 

In light of the news that Mayors from 18 cities spoke on a conference call last week about destroying the encampments, the organizations are taking the position that a preemptive action is necessary in order to protect the peaceful assembly at Dewey. The Mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, has not stated publicly whether or not he was on that conference call. But the ACLUm isn't waiting to find out the hard way.

The suit, filed in Superior Court, seeks a Declaration from the Court defending the right to peaceful protest and assembly under the United States Constitution and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, as well an injunction to prevent the police from staging another night-time raid, such as the one that occurred on October 11, 2011, when the Boston Police arrested 141 people in the middle of the night. 

Please click here to read the press release announcing the suit.

UPDATE: Please join us at the hearing tomorrow, Wednesday November 16, at 10 am at the Suffolk Superior Court house, Room 1008. Judge Mcintyre presiding. The court is at 3 Pemberton Square, near State House and Boston City Hall.