A lawsuit filed by a Presbyterian minister who was denied permission to hold a prayer vigil on the West Front of the Capitol several months after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection has resulted in loosened rules around permits for demonstrations on the campus and limited the exemptions that lawmakers are afforded regarding protests.
A settlement in the case increases the number of people allowed to demonstrate without a permit to 30, up from 19. And the minimum time between a permit application and the proposed demonstration has been reduced from 10 business days to five.
The settlement also limits when members of Congress are entitled to exemptions from the Capitol Police Board’s traffic regulations on demonstrations. Those exemptions apply only if they meet all three of the following conditions: the member is engaging in that activity in their official capacity; the activity is sponsored or organized by the lawmaker; and, if people other than the member are participating, the member must be present “at all times” for the exemption to last.
