WASHINGTON CITY PAPER
June 2, 1995
CITY DESK
BUBBLE TROUBLE
Last week, it was reported in this column that longtime Lafayette Park protester William Thomas
suggested that, to protect the president, the government encase the White House in a large glass
dome instead of closing Pennsylvania Avenue. On Friday, May 26, Thomas was arrested by the
Metropolitan Police for refusing to obey an officer's request to move a sign reading "Wanted:
Wisdom and Honesty", from the former thoroughfare. Thomas maintains he didn't have to obey the
cop's order, since he was exercising his First Amendment rights. "The placement of the Sign is
important to me. My means of expression are very limited. Moving a sign 5 or 10 feet to the east or
to the west could make the difference in whether or not the message on the sign is included in a
picture that someone takes home and shows to several friends, thus spreading the message," notes
Thomas. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 27 to answer to the charges. In the meantime,
Thomas says he plans to ask the court to issue a restraining order preventing police from interfering
in his Pennsylvania Avenue protests.