Elon Law Associate Dean Enrique Armijo spoke with National Public Radio for a story on the conditions of pre-trial release for some demonstrators charged by federal authorities in Portland, Oregon, and how those conditions may violate the First Amendment.
Several protesters arrested and charged by federal authorities in Portland, Oregon, in recent days were released from custody pending trial on a condition that an Elon Law scholar argues is against their First Amendment right to freedom of assembly.
Associate Dean Enrique Armijo spoke with National Public Radio for a July 29, 2020, report on the way a federal magistrate judge is requiring defendants to stay away from parts of the city as a stipulation for their pre-trial freedom.
“For Some Arrested At Portland Protests, Release Is Conditional On Not Attending More” by journalist Rachel Treisman explains that many of those arrested are facing misdemeanor charges. The story quotes Armijo as a critic of the condition.
“There’s no way you can say that because of something you may have done with respect to federal property, a federal court is going to say you cannot engage in First Amendment-protected activity in the entire city in which that federal property is located,” Armijo said.
In addition to his administrative roles at Elon Law, Armijo is an Affiliate Fellow of the Yale Law School Information Society Project. He teaches and researches in the areas of the First Amendment, constitutional law, torts, administrative law, media and internet law, and international freedom of expression.
Armijo’s current scholarship addresses the interaction between new technologies and free speech.