I didn't push YOUR BACK. STOP. I SAID GET BACK ON THE SIDEWALK. GET ON THE SIDEWALK. >> It's okay. >> Hey, hey, hey, hey. Okay. Hey, you're coming with us. You're under arrest. >> On June 8th, 2025, in what appears to be an American city street, a protest march brought officers and demonstrators into direct sustained contact, and one woman left in handcuffs. >> I'm sorry. Can you repeat your last, please? Ask if you want to send somebody up. Hey. Do you guys want to go up to Ludlow or uh Maple and block off High Street? Go ahead that way. If they want to walk here, that's fine. They can route down the street here. We just don't want them in High Street. They don't want them in High Street. Go up to High Street. We'll hold it down here. Well, what do you say? Uh he said they don't want them going up to I know. Unlock it. Unlock it. Stay here. Just unlock it. Get on the sidewalk. On the sidewalk. Got to get on the sidewalk. Go. We're going to start hooking people. Get on the sidewalk. Get on the sidewalk. On the sidewalk. Both ways. Go sidewalk. Are you in charge here? I'm not you. Okay. Are you in charge Are you in charge? I'LL GET MY BOSS. OKAY. SIDEWALK >> [screaming] >> SIDEWALK. SIDEWALK. ARE YOU BLOCKING THE SIDEWALK? >> WHAT? >> ARE YOU LIKE BLOCKING ME HERE? >> Don't hear you, I'm sorry. >> Get out of my way. Sidewalk. Go sidewalk. Sidewalk, please. >> I know. Go this way. >> Sidewalk. >> Back this way. Back to the protest. >> Sidewalk, guys, please. Thank you. Sidewalk. Sidewalk. >> Before we break down who was right, who was wrong, and what the law actually says, understand this. The street is not a legal gray zone, and neither is the act of arresting someone without telling them why. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and the Supreme Court has long held that public streets and sidewalks are, in the words of the court, held in trust for the use of the public as a traditional public forum. In Hague versus the Committee for Industrial Organization, decided in 1939, the Supreme Court established that streets and parks have been used for public assembly and debate from ancient times, and their use for such purposes may not be abridged, conditioned, or limited by the government without compelling justification. However, the government does retain authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of that assembly, as the court made clear in Cox versus Louisiana, 1965, provided those regulations are content neutral, narrowly tailored, and leave open alternative channels of communication, such as the sidewalk. Here, officers repeatedly directed protesters to the sidewalk, citing the need to keep the roadway clear. That order, standing alone, is consistent with a lawful time, place, and manner restriction, because the sidewalk remained available and the protesters were permitted to continue their demonstration. >> Hi. I apologize. >> Hello, hello, hello, hello. Sidewalks, please. You are allowed to be doing what you're doing, but you got to stay on the sidewalks, please. Thank you. Sidewalks. We're going to get sidewalks, please. What? >> I'm getting on the sidewalk. I'm going to try to pull them back this way. >> Please do. Please do. Thank you. >> Guys, move this way. >> Can we get on the sidewalk, please? Sidewalk. You guys are allowed to be doing what you're doing. Please go on the sidewalk. Sidewalk. Yes, thank you. Sidewalk, go. Sidewalk. Guys, guys, get on the sidewalk. Go. Get on the sidewalk. Sidewalk, PLEASE. SIDEWALK. GO ON THE SIDEWALK. GO ON THE SIDEWALK. SIDEWALK, GO. SIDEWALK. [screaming] Go on the sidewalk. GET ON THE SIDEWALK. SIDEWALK. SIDEWALK. BACK UP. GET BACK. Get back. Get back. Get back. Go on the sidewalk. Please back up. Okay. Get on the sidewalk. Go. Go. GET BACK. SIDEWALK. Go on the sidewalk. Sidewalk. Get on the sidewalk. Get on the sidewalk. >> What happened? What did you see? >> Uh I'm I'm out here trying to clear the sidewalk. She comes up, pushes me, I push her back. Stop. >> NOT PUSH YOU. YOU SHOVED ME TO THE GROUND. >> PUSHED. Get back on the sidewalk. Get on the sidewalk. Okay. Hey, you're coming with us. You're under arrest. You're under arrest. Stop. Stop. Stop resisting. And then you >> Get rid of her. >> I HAVE YOUR CAR. >> TAKE HER. TAKE HER. GO. YOU TWO GO. YOU TWO GO. >> The legal problem emerges not in the order to move, but in what happened next, when physical contact occurred and an officer made an arrest. The subject is clearly heard asking multiple times, "You are under arrest for what? What are my charges?" No officer on camera provides a clear, immediate answer. Under the Fourth Amendment, a lawful arrest requires probable cause. It does not require that an officer state the charges aloud at the moment of arrest, as the Supreme Court clarified in Devenpeck versus Alford, 2004. However, best practice, and the standard most departments train to, is to inform the subject of the basis for the arrest promptly. When the officer does eventually list the charges, they include disorderly conduct and assault on a peace officer. Under most state codes, disorderly conduct requires an overt act that creates a risk of public disturbance, not merely walking in the street after being told not to, which raises a legitimate question about whether that charge will survive a probable cause hearing. The use of force during the arrest must be evaluated under Graham versus Connor, 1989, where the Supreme Court held that the reasonableness of force is judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, considering the severity of the crime, the immediate threat posed, and whether the subject is actively resisting or attempting to evade arrest. Based on what the footage shows, the subject made physical contact with an officer. The officer responded with a push, and an arrest followed. Under Graham, that calculus is not automatically excessive, but the level of force used and the stated charge of assault on a peace officer will both be tested against that same standard in court. One additional procedural note. Once a person is in custody, Miranda versus Arizona, 1966, requires that before any custodial interrogation, officers advise the subject of the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Any statement made without that advisement cannot be used against the subject in a criminal proceeding. >> You know this. LET THEM GO. >> MA'AM, WHAT'S your name, ma'am? I'm with the LAPD. >> Which one? Right here? >> Everyone out of the street. >> Stop. Stop. Somebody needs TO LET MY DOG GO. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO LET MY DOG GO. >> MOVE OVER HERE. >> [screaming] >> WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? >> OUT OF THE STREET. Everyone out of the street. Out of the street. >> Let them go. >> Ma'am, get off the street. >> NO, LET THEM GO. YOU GUYS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE BLOCKING TRAFFIC, not us. >> Okay. You can't be on the street. You got to go on the sidewalk. You got to go on the sidewalk. The sidewalk is totally fine. >> What happens if I don't? >> You're going to go to jail. You're going to go to Yes, you're going to go to disorderly conduct. >> Disorderly what? >> I told you you have to be off the street. You need to get off the street. >> I'm in the parking lane, dude. >> No, that is still a street. You're going to get arrested. Go on the sidewalk. >> Let them go. Can you guys get people off the street? The sidewalk is totally fine. Keep doing what you're doing. Have to stay off the street. Totally fine. Well, can you get us Can you For for what? For what? Do you want me to list them? We got disorderly conduct and she's probably going to get assault on a police officer on. Cuz she pushed us. When she got mad at me walked off, she pushed our lieutenant. Everyone needs to go. Get on the sidewalk. You guys want to keep doing the parade, that's fine. Do it on the sidewalk. Go. Go. Go. Well, all right. You guys planned it. I mean, go for it. Well, I have no idea. I have no idea. We're going to have a problem. All of the same. Everyone has to be off street, now. Off the street, on the sidewalk. You can go on the sidewalk. You guys can keep doing what you're doing. It's got to be on the sidewalk. Start backing up. Start backing up, on the sidewalk. Well, what's the plan, boss? Okay. Sidewalk, let's go. Let's go. Sidewalk. You can keep doing what you're doing, but you got to be on the sidewalk. Go. >> It was all good until you guys started to trap everybody in here. >> I'm sorry? >> It was all good until you guys started to trap everybody in here. >> Nope, we turned everyone off the street. That's not how that works. Everyone off the street, on the sidewalk. On the sidewalk. >> It wouldn't have been an issue if you guys wouldn't have trapped everybody in here. >> On the sidewalk. Thank you. >> All right, everybody. If you don't want to get arrested, WE NEED YOU FIGHTING TOMORROW. EVERYBODY GET ON THE SIDEWALK. WE'RE GOING TO WALK back together, on the sidewalks, all right? >> Thank you. Love it. That's great. That's great. Never better. >> Now, the grades. The officers involved receive a B minus. The lawful basis for clearing the roadway was sound. The verbal commands were largely professional, and cooperation was sought before force was used. The procedural gap, specifically the failure to state charges clearly at the moment of arrest, and the ambiguity around probable cause for the disorderly conduct charge, prevents a higher rating. The arrested subject receives a C plus. Verbally asserting her rights by repeatedly asking for the basis of the arrest is exactly the correct legal move, and she deserves credit for that. However, making physical contact with an officer, regardless of who initiated the exchange, is what converted a misdemeanor situation into a more serious one, and ultimately led to the arrest. Five lessons emerge from this encounter that every person attending a public demonstration should carry with them. These are not opinions. They are derived directly from the constitutional law and case precedent we just reviewed. Lesson one, the street is a public forum, but it is not an unlimited one. Officers can lawfully redirect a march to the sidewalk so long as the sidewalk remains open and the restriction is content neutral, not based on the message being expressed. Lesson two, when an officer gives a lawful order, compliance is the legally safe choice in the moment. If the order is unlawful, the place to challenge it is in court, not in the street. Physical non-compliance escalates your legal exposure immediately. Lesson three, you have the right to ask for the basis of your arrest and you should. Officers are expected to articulate probable cause and if they cannot do so clearly and promptly, that becomes a significant issue in any subsequent criminal or civil proceeding. Lesson four, do not make physical contact with an officer under any circumstances during a tense crowd situation. It does not matter who you believe escalated the situation because once contact occurs, the legal analysis shifts dramatically and not in your favor. Lesson five, once you are in custody, stop talking. Miranda versus Arizona protects your right to remain silent and that protection only works if you use it. Ask for an attorney. State that you are invoking your right to remain silent and say nothing further until counsel is present. The outcome of the charges in this case is not known at the time of this analysis. Based on the legal framework reviewed here, the disorderly conduct charge faces a meaningful probable cause challenge while the assault on officer charge will turn on exactly what the footage shows at the moment of contact. If there is an interaction or a legal topic you would like us to break down in a future video, let us know in the comments. If this analysis was useful to you, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel for more legal breakdowns like this one.