thedailywhat:

Footloose IRL of the Day: A number of demonstrators were arrested today while protesting a ban on dancing at the Jefferson Memorial.

According to protester Andrew Sharp, the U.S. Park Police told the group they would be immediately be arrested without warning if they started dancing. “I think some people thought it was a joke at first, and then they started putting handcuffs on people and were very, very serious about it,” Sharp is quoted as saying.

He and about a dozen others gathered at the Jefferson Memorial to protest a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling from earlier this month which upheld a ban on dancing at the monument officially put in place last year.

A flashmob that attempted an “MP3 experiment” on site back in 2008 were told they weren’t allowed to dance there. One of the participants, who was arrested on misdemeanor charges, took the matter to court on the grounds that dancing was protected free speech. The court ruled that, in order to “maintain decorum at the nation’s monuments,” no demonstrations were allowed inside.

[wtop / video: thanks hamtunes!] 

This needs to be seen by more people.