"For months, Houston police have been citing and arresting local volunteers for the radical act of feeding the needy. Now the city is facing a lawsuit alleging that its crackdown on charitable giving violates the First Amendment."
"Randy Hiroshige, a Texas Civil Rights Project attorney, says the issue isn't just about handing out sandwiches; it's about the government trying to suppress political speech.
"They're a protest group," Hiroshige says of Food Not Bombs. "They want to be visible, and the reason they conduct their food sharing is to show the public what it looks like when a community looks out for each other's needs and really provides mutual aid to one another.""
"Similar cases have popped up elsewhere. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in 2018 that distributing food was "expressive conduct" protected under the #FirstAmendment. That decision was a response to a lawsuit by the Food Not Bombs chapter in Fort Lauderdale."
