Posted on 06/12/2010 5:29:58 PM PDT by JoeProBono
LAS VEGAS, - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of a man who claims a Las Vegas hotel kidnapped him and his brother while he was dressed as Zorro.
The lawsuit alleges Jason Perez-Morciglio, 36, was throwing away trash in front of The Venetian Jan. 15 with his brother, Sebastian Perez-Morciglio, 28 -- who sometimes dresses as Darth Vader for street performances with his brother but was not in costume -- when hotel security officers "kidnapped the brothers, forced them into a small room inside the Venetian Hotel and detained them," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Friday.
"These security guards handcuffed the brothers, searched their persons and belongings, demanded identification, and photographed them," the ACLU said in court papers. "Each of the brothers was strapped to a chair and kept by the security guards for over an hour."
The suit alleges two Las Vegas police officers were called by the hotel and handcuffed and searched the brothers. The brothers were then forced to sign misdemeanor trespass warnings, the suit claims.
"There has been a long history of litigation concerning the right of the public to express themselves on the public forum of sidewalks going up and down the Las Vegas Strip," ACLU attorney Allen Lichtenstein said. "In particular, both the United States District Court and the (9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals) have explicitly stated that the sidewalk in front of The Venetian is a public forum. Unfortunately, the hotel doesn't appear to feel bound by the courts' decision."
The lawsuit names The Venetian, The Metropolitan Police Department and Sheriff Doug Gillespie.
Q.What do you do for a living Jason?
A. I dress up as Zorro and hassle the people going in and out of the Venetian. I make a myself a pain in the butt until they cut loose with a couple of bucks.
But I see myself coming into some money shortly, via the ACLU.
Expensive for businesses to violate people’s rights in the US. Dang. Get rid of that old time constitution!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.