Occupy Columbia protestors cannot camp at Statehouse, may protest around the clock

COLUMBIA - The Occupy Columbia protesters will be allowed to protest 24 hours a day at the Statehouse but they can't camp or sleep on the grounds, a federal court judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie let stand a rule passed Tuesday by the South Carolina Budget and Control Board. Gov. Nikki Haley is chairwoman of the board. The rule, which bans sleeping and camping on the Statehouse grounds, is modeled after the National Park Service policy.

The objective, Haley has said, is to protect the health and safety of the public.

The attorneys for the protesters said the ruling is not a hit to free speech in South Carolina, despite losing the court action.

It's not clear at this time if the protesters will take the matter to state court.

The protesters must remove their tents and property from the Statehouse grounds, but state officials agreed to give them a reasonable amount of time to do it. The attorneys did not know immediately what constitutes a reasonable amount of time, but said it isn’t likely to be more than a day or two.

Currie said the state has a significant and valid interest in taking action that will limit the potential for crime. And so, she said, the emergency rule is not unreasonable.

Additionally, the Occupy movement has alternative channels to communicate their message, Currie said in her verbal ruling.

Reynolds Blankenship, a lawyer for the Occupiers, said the ruling will hamper the protest movement. He said, however, he does not see it as an attack on free speech. The issue in question for the judge to decide was the technical definition of what constitutes an emergency, Blankenship said.