Strong words, but they seem warranted. The Richmond Tea Party abided by the law, paid the fees, took out the mandatory $1 million insurance policy, and peaceably assembled to petition their government. The occupiers currently squatting in downtown Richmond did none of that. Richmond Tea Party president Eric McGrane has taken note of the difference in treatment the two groups have received from the city.
Eric McGrane, President of the Richmond Tea Party, just asserted to me that laws should be universal, applying to all groups equally, but the fact that RTP has well documented issues requiring compliance and expenditures somewhere between $8,000 and $10,000 that were forced upon the group over the last three Tea Party events in Richmond shows that all laws do NOT apply equally.
“The fact that they are not and the fact that mayor Jones refuses to enforce the law and choses to empathize with the OWS movement shows that city leadership endorses anarchy over lawfulness in Richmond,” said McGrane.
According to the post at Disrupt the Narrative, the city of Richmond tossed up several roadblocks as the Richmond Tea Party organized its events. The same can’t be said of the occupiers, who haven’t been forced to comply with permitting or anything else. Richmond is Virginia’s capital and the governor at the time of Richmond’s resistance to the Tea Party was Tim Kaine, former DNC chairman and currently the Democrats’ contender for Jim Webb’s Senate seat.
The Richmond Tea Party is seeking to get its fees reimbursed, which would be the fair thing for Richmond to do. Either that, or force the occupiers to comply with all the relevant permitting or vacate their Obamaville.
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