Wilmington sued for shutting down police accountability event

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the city of Wilmington and the Wilmington Police Department in federal court for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of community organizer Haneef Salaam, after the city shut down his scheduled community event days before it was set to take place.

The lawsuit is largely based on reporting from Spotlight Delaware, which last month uncovered a thread of emails showing that WPD began monitoring and expressing concern about the “Justice For All” event just four days before it was scheduled to take place at the Urban Artist Exchange, a city-owned outdoor music venue. 

City officials ultimately halted the event after police grew uneasy about its theme, which called for “accountability, credibility, and transparency” from local law enforcement.

The ACLU argues that these actions violated Salaam’s right to free speech, as the emails show that the restrictions set on Salaam’s event were based on its content. 

‘Positive Vibes in the Park’ series

Salaam, a local activist, collaborated with the city to host a monthly event series called “Positive Vibes in the Park,” as a part of CityFest programming, a nonprofit that’s staffed by the city and the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

The events, which featured food, music and local performers, were set to take place between March and September of this year.

But for the Aug. 23 scheduled event, Salaam promoted the gathering with the headline “Justice For All,” and planned to feature speakers who had been affected by police brutality, which included Lakeisha Nix, sister of Lymond Moses, and Keandra McDole, sister of Jeremy McDole – Both of whom were killed by Delaware law enforcement.

Salaam also invited members of Families United, a nationwide organization that supports Black families facing injustice. Through that effort came Bianca Austin – aunt of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in Kentucky in 2020 – and Jacob Blake Sr., father of Jacob Blake, who was shot and paralyzed by police in Wisconsin in 2020, joined the event.

Emails from the city show that WPD and the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs began to express concerns only four days before the event was to take place.

Emails of concern

Spotlight Delaware received the thread of emails from the city after winning a Freedom of Information Act request which was originally denied, but later won after Spotlight appealed and the Delaware Department of Justice ruled in its favor.

The email chain started with the Real Time Crime Center flagging the event, highlighting the speakers that were going to be present and pointing out that it was being promoted by what they called “pro-Palestine” groups.

According to the emails, WPD continued to monitor the event, which they categorized as a “rally” and later brought it to the attention of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

Williams wrote to city officials that she thought the event was going to be a regular edition of the series, noting that she was “uneasy” about the advertisement she saw.

And although she was assured by Salaam that it was not a rally, she planned to shut it down anyway.

Salaam told Spotlight Delaware that he had been planning this specific event for six weeks and maintains that Lattisha “Tish” Williams, an assistant in the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, had prior knowledge of the event.

He received notice from Williams only two days prior that the event could not take place on UAE grounds as a result of concerns from WPD.

But the following morning, Williams messaged Salaam telling him that he could hold the event at the UAE if he made significant changes, including refraining from holding signs, doing chants, giving speeches, and writing “justice for all” and “demand” on social media advertisements.

Salaam denied the offer and ultimately held the gathering at New Castle County’s Route 9 Library and Innovation Center outside of city limits.

But one of the last emails that Spotlight received shows that WPD was prepared to reach out to Salaam personally if they had to, in order to shut down the event.

​​In a written statement to Spotlight Delaware last month, officials from the Office of Cultural Affairs asserted that the “Justice in the Park” event was “inconsistent” with their agreement with Salaam, which was to focus on arts and entertainment. They claimed they only became aware of the event a few days earlier through social media and were unaware of its specific content.

City officials further stated that the UAE was designed to promote entertainment and culture and had never been used for a public protest, arguing that Salaam’s event did not align with this purpose.

Seeking restitution

In the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday with the U.S. District Court of Delaware, the ACLU argues that the content-based restrictions imposed on Salaam’s police accountability event were unconstitutional.

The defendants in the lawsuit include the city of Wilmington, CityFest, Williams, Tina Betz, the director of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs; and WPD Chief Wilfredo Campos.

Salaam said the city’s emails made him feel as though he was being watched and treated like a criminal, which was emotionally triggering for him.

He also stressed that the city has more important things they could be putting resources toward.

“I’m like, ‘Why are they wasting time watching my page for a positive event when we have serious crimes happening in this city,’” Salaam told Spotlight Delaware this week.

Jared Silberglied, a catalyst legal fellow with the ACLU, said the organization wants to protect Salaam’s right to speech and assembly, while also ensuring that the city officials are not suppressing the speech of others, which can become more common when left unopposed.

“This is especially troubling since it came from the Wilmington police after the event in question was going to be critical of the Wilmington Police Department,” Silberglied said.

The suit asks the court to prohibit the city from enforcing content-based conditions on Salaam’s use of the UAE and other public spaces in the city. It also seeks a declaration that the city’s restrictions on the event were unconstitutional, reimbursement of legal expenses and any additional relief deemed appropriate by the court.

Aside from wanting to hold the city accountable for its actions, Salaam wants to speak out against the privatization of public parks, which he says has been an ongoing concern for local advocates in other places in the city like Tubman-Garrett Park. 

“I just want public places to be truly open for the public and for people to do what they want to do there, as long as they’re coming together with positivity,” he said.