The Fayetteville City Council is considering a plan to tighten rules for public protests and demonstrations.
The council on Monday discussed three proposed amendments to the city’s picketing ordinance—changes that supporters say are needed to address disruptive behavior downtown, and critics warn could chill constitutionally protected speech.
Mayor Mitch Colvin said renewed interest in the city’s rules followed a column in The Fayetteville Observer and a locally viral Facebook post last November.
That thread, started by Dad Bod District owner Keith Bowen, drew dozens of complaints about the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group that regularly preaches on Hay Street near the Arts Council.
Bowen wrote in his post that the group frequently shouts statements such as “women are whores” and “whites are devils,” and said he has watched customers turn away from his business as a result.
The proposed revisions would make three key changes:
- New language would prohibit demonstrators from using “fighting words or language that is indecent or threatening which would tend to provoke a reasonable person to a breach of peace.”
- Demonstrations would be prohibited within 10 feet of “any outdoor dining area,” and no one could approach or engage diners without their consent — including handing out leaflets, displaying signs, or verbally protesting.
- All demonstrations would be required to give advance written notice to police, regardless of the number of participants.
Free‑Speech Implications
Colvin urged caution, saying the city must balance the rights of demonstrators with the rights of residents and businesses.
“I think it gets very complicated to try to regulate what people say,” he said. “The question is, how can we allow them to express themselves and allow people who don’t want it expressed to still be able to have their rights not violated?”
Newly elected council member Shaun McMillan—a longtime community organizer—emerged as the strongest opponent of the changes.
“This is a bad idea. It’s a bad policy,” McMillan said. “Now we’re trying to do mental gymnastics to justify infringing on people’s constitutional rights. … It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
City Attorney Lachelle Pulliam pushed back, citing case law and arguing the amendments comply with First Amendment standards.
With Monday’s meeting already stretching past five hours by the time the protest ordinance came up, council members agreed they were not ready to fully discuss the issue or vote.
McMillan moved to table the discussion for 30 to 60 days, and the council signaled it wants staff to return with refined proposals in February.
Other Protest Groups Raise Concerns
Though the proposed changes appear aimed at the Black Hebrew Israelites, other local activist organizations say the revisions could sweep far more broadly.
Pat Wiley, co‑founder of the Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, told CityView the city already has tools to address harassment without restricting peaceful demonstrations.
Using the picketing ordinance, Wiley said, means “you’re basically blanketing everybody and restricting everybody unconstitutionally.”
He argued the dining‑area buffer would make it “physically impossible” for groups to march down Hay Street, given the number of restaurants with protruding patios. He said the notice requirements would make it harder to plan legal protests. And he warned that vague language could give law enforcement officers too much discretion.
“Any cop could just decide to interpret this ordinance any way he wants to make an arrest,” Wiley said.
Patrick Anstead, an attorney with The Richardson Firm, told CityView the revisions “on their face” do not violate free‑speech rights. But he noted that the question of vagueness—whether the rules about indecent language are clear enough to enforce fairly—is “a closer call.”
Still, “the revisions are likely to pass constitutional scrutiny because they are drafted in such a way as to connect the utterance of indecent language with provocation to breach the peace,” Anstead said.
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