Less than 48 hours after the City of Sanford threatened reporters with arrest on stalking charges if they contacted city employees after working hours regarding the Trayvon Martin case, the city has retracted the order.
On Wednesday, March 28, the City stated in a press release:
The City of Sanford kindly requests that members of the media refrain from approaching, phoning or emailing city employees when they are in their roles as private citizens. It has come to light that there have been a few incidents where city staff were followed and approached at their home or in settings outside of working hours.
Law enforcement officials will not hesitate to make an arrest for stalking.
However, on Thursday, the City rescinded that warning noting that,
Upon reevaluation, it is clear that portions of that Advisory were improvidently issued. The first two paragraphs (see above) of that Advisory are hereby rescinded. The City regrets any inconvenience caused by the improvident wording of the Advisory.
City officials had their come to Jesus moment shortly after they were contacted by attorneys representing the Orlando Sentinel and WFTV-Channel 9. The
Sentinel reports that attorney Rachel E. Fugate (of the firm Thomas & Locicero) sent a letter to the city manager of Sanford which observed that:
Constitutionally protected conduct, such as news gathering, cannot be considered stalking. She also noted that the city's directive amounted to censorship.
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That didn't take long.