SEQUIM — Two men calling for the impeachment of President Obama — while displaying posters depicting Obama in a Hitler-like mustache — set up a table Friday morning at the Sequim post office, and stayed into the afternoon, although Postmaster Steve Allen asked them to leave.
The men refused to give their names and would not speak to a reporter.
When asked for the reasons, one man replied simply, “No, no, no.”
The pair proffered fliers from the LaRouche Political Action Committee that include contact information for the PAC’s Leesburg, Va., headquarters and an essay by longtime national political activist Lyndon LaRouche, 87.
“Obama’s stated intention, to shut down and destroy the NASA program at its root, when added to the Hitler-like health-care policy . . . is one step too far to bear,” LaRouche, a sometime presidential candidate, writes.
“There is no longer room on this planet for a United States and a President Obama to occupy the same space.”
Some post office customers indicated their displeasure while walking past the men, though others stopped at their table and took fliers.
Allen, however, called the Sequim Police Department in hopes of persuading the men to pack up.
“Our requests did not sway them from where they are,” Allen said Friday afternoon.
“Most of our customers are not happy,” he added.
Elsewhere in state
The LaRouche PAC members appeared at the Port Angeles post office on April 1. Police were called then as well.
LaRouche PAC members also have been elsewhere in the state, Allen said.
“They travel around and cause a commotion,” he said.
Believing it inappropriate for the LaRouche PAC members to use federal property to spread their message, Allen said he contacted the Seattle district postal inspector general’s office.
“We’ll leave it up to them,” he said.
The inspector general could not be reached for comment Friday.
Meantime, “they’re not going anywhere unless they’re physically removed,” Allen said.
Sequim Police Lt. Sheri Crain said her officers would not forcibly remove the activists unless they obstruct traffic or otherwise create a significant disturbance.
First Amendment rights
“The people obviously have First Amendment rights,” Crain added.
“We’re here to keep the peace. We’ll take enforcement action if there’s disorderly conduct.”
Port Angeles police made similar statements when the group showed up at the post office earlier this month.
If the property owner wants someone removed, he or she may seek a court injunction and send a federal officer to enforce it, Crain said.
When asked whether protesting on federal land is illegal, the lieutenant said, “There is no black and white. There is a lot of gray area,” and the issue is rife with litigation in this country.
The federal government may be within its authority to banish the activists, but the local police, Crain said, “are not going to violate anybody’s civil rights.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
