Emergency legislation passed by DC Council to control protest noise

WASHINGTON — The DC Council passed emergency legislation Tuesay with a 9-2 vote to bring some relief to neighbors upset over megaphone-fueled protests right outside their front door. Those neighbors say they aren’t even the target of the protesters, but they are still paying the price.

Hours before the vote, people from from D.C.’s Kalorama neighborhood passionately tried to convince councilmembers to vote in favor of emergency legislation introduced by Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto to address the early morning protests outside the Chinese Ambassador’s residence, with noise levels that often exceed 100 decibels. People in the Barnaby Woods neighborhood who live near the spokesperson for the State Department are dealing with it, too.

As originally written, D.C.’s “Residential Tranquility Act” allowed protests in residential areas from 7a.m. to 10 p.m. without any restrictions on how loud the protest is.

Pinto originally wanted to restrict all demonstrations in residential areas, with or without amplified sound, to the hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We welcome protests,” Pinto told councilmembers while they debated her legislation. “Protests can happen here at the Wilson Building. It can happen throughout the city. The chairman mentioned we signed up for that, we also signed up to protect our residents, and our residents are asking for our help.”

But hours before the meeting, Pinto found out she didn’t have the votes to get that bill through. Some councilmembers called the plan overly broad, and dangerously close to restricting free speech.

“Even if this law yields no arrests, it has the potential to meaningfully change the relationship between protesters and law enforcement,” Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker said. 

Pinto dialed back her proposed changes to the law, much to the disappointment of some of those neighbors in the room. She amended her bill to continue to allow demonstrations in residential areas during the same hours. But she included a new provision to restrict the use of megaphones in neighborhoods to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. only. It will also ban the use of projectiles by protesters, giving people who live in those areas at least a few more hours of peace and quiet.

The emergency legislation is only valid for 90 days, which is why Pinto called this “the first step” toward a long-term solution, which would have the potential to be challenged in court over First Amendment issues.

MPD will have to give protesters multiple warnings to stop using amplified noise devices during the restricted hours before breaking up the protest. If the protesters refuse, they will be subject to an arrest on misdemeanor charges.