Activists no longer banned from Asheville parks as case proceeds; 2 appeal convictions

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Several people previously banned from Asheville city parks will, for the time being, be able to access those parks again after a recent ruling.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina announced in a press release that a district court judge issued a decision in Norris v. Asheville granting the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction, "meaning that the City’s decision to ban the Plaintiffs from Asheville parks will not be enforced as the case proceeds."

The ACLU of North Carolina previously filed a lawsuit on behalf of 15 people banned from Asheville city parks, requesting they be let back into the areas while their case is heard.

ACLU FIGHTS FOR PARK ACCESS FOR ASHEVILLE ACTIVISTS BANNED AFTER HOMELESS ADVOCACY PROTEST

The 15 were charged with felony littering following a Christmas 2021 protest in Aston Park demanding shelter for the city's homeless population. The city then banned them from Asheville parks for three years.

The ACLU said the plaintiffs regularly volunteer their support and resources to unhoused people in Asheville and the ban is preventing that.

"The lawsuit alleges that the policy and bans violate the Plaintiffs’ rights to due process and freedom of assembly by taking away their access to public parks without requiring notice or a meaningful hearing," the ACLU's release said. "The lawsuit also alleges that the bans constitute retaliation against Plaintiffs for protesting the City’s treatment of unhoused people."

ASHEVILLE JOURNALISTS FOUND GUILTY OF TRESPASSING DURING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT COVERAGE

Separate from the ACLU's lawsuit, two Asheville Blade reporters, Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit, have appealed their convictions on trespassing charges in Aston Park. Both were convicted in a jury trial last June.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation said the two journalists were arrested while covering a police sweep of a homeless encampment at Aston Park and the protest that followed on Christmas night in 2021. The basis for their arrests was that the park closed at 10 p.m., so Bliss and Coit were charged with trespassing.

Their case will now go to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.