Mayor Lightfoot Defends Ban On Protesting Outside Her House

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday defended a police-order to ban protesting outside her Logan Square home. The police-issued edict to uphold a rarely enforced ordinance that restricts protests in residential areas was first reported by the Tribune.

The Tribune report cited an email from a police commander informing officers detailed to protect Lightfoot's residence that they should instruct anyone who shows up to protest there that city ordinances and state law prohibit protesting in residential neighborhoods. After issuing that warning, the commander's instructions call for locking down the Mayor's block and adjacent streets. After a third and final warning, officers were instructed to make arrests, according to the email obtained by the Tribune.

At an unrelated Thursday news conference, Lightfoot told reporters she won't apologize for protecting her block.

"This is a different time like no other. I’m not gonna make any excuses for the fact that, given the threats I have personally received, given the threats to my home and my family, I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure they are protected. I make no apologies whatsoever for that," the mayor said.

“We are living in a very different time, and I have seen the threats that come in. I have an obligation to keep my home, my wife, my 12-year-old and my neighbors safe. … I think that residents of this city, understanding the nature of the threats we are receiving on a daily basis ... I have a right to make sure my home is secure. We have a right to our home to live in peace.”

State law prohibits "residential picketing" near someone's home unless it is used as a place of business. Violations are a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a maximum punishment of six months in jail and a $1,500 fine.