Free & Equal would like to share with you the following press release issued on Wednesday, October 30 by Rochester, NY Tea Party leader & Free & Equal New York Caucus Leader Chris Edes. The press release is copied in its entirety, and the original may be found here.

Rochester Tea Party leader Chris Edes issued a formal statement today, demanding Mayor Richards cease arresting Occupy Rochester protesters immediately.

“If we allow Mayor Richards to violate the First Amendment rights of the Occupy Rochester protesters, what is to prevent him from doing it to the Tea Party?” said Edes.

“The purpose of the law requiring city parks to close at 11pm is to deter crime. When dealing with First Amendment issues, the government must use the least restrictive means possible to achieve their goals. Requiring everyone to leave is clearly not the least restrictive means, even if the Mayor could point to specific instances of crime, which so far he has not. Mayor Richards’ actions are unconstitutional and if necessary, he will be held accountable in a court of law.”

Edes also noted that the Tea Party shares some common goals with the Occupy Wall Street movement. “It is the Federal Reserve, along with the banks and investment firms, and their lackeys in government, which created our economic crisis. This is becoming increasingly obvious to Americans of all political persuasions. It is shameful that Mayor Richards believes he can stifle the peaceful expression of outrage over this fact.”

Edes plans to join this afternoon’s march on City Hall, demanding that Richards cease his unlawful activity.