Mayor orders man removed after he didn't stand for Pledge of Allegiance

[Ms. Toad]

105. Correct - but the violation here

was the choice the mayor gave him to engage in expressive conduct, or leave the meeting. Attendance at a governmental meeting (or any part thereof) cannot be made contingent on forced speech (or expressive conduct) - regardless of the content of the speech.

His motivation was to change how the town starts its meetings - but why he chose not to stand is not relevant to the violation of his first amendment rights by the Mayor.

And - unfortunately - as to the pledge, so long as there is no forced participation, that is a losing prospect - it has been fought and lost already. After Greece, fighting meetings starting with religious prayers - as long they are carefully structured - is also a losing prospect. I don't agree with the interpretation in Greece, and I support his right to continue to protest and agitate for change, but why he was protesting doesn't have anything to do with the violation of his rights here. The violation would be the same if he had been protesting because the invocations were not Christian enough for his tastes and he had been forced to choose between standing for the invocation or leaving the meeting.