The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against the City of Columbus on behalf of the local Occupy Wall Street group. The complaint, filed on May 30 in U.S. District Court, claimed that placing a tent or other structure that “is not easily movable” in a public space qualifies as free speech protected by the First Amendment and the state constitution:

“One of the defining physical features of the Occupy movement is the presence of its tent. The tent is used to symbolize the ‘occupancy’ of public forums until the imbalance of power in political and economic structures has been addressed.”

The protesters “occupied” the street in front of the Ohio statehouse from late 2011 until summer 2012, when the city tightened permit rules.

The group initially paid $1 per day to use public sidewalk space, according to Ohio MediaTrackers, but changes in the municipal code have prevented the movement from obtaining new permits. As of July 2012, Chapter 906 of the city code mandated that “all persons seeking to erect or maintain a structure on the right-of-way of any street . . . of the city for any non-commercial purpose shall obtain the consent of the [Director of Public Services].” Permits could be revoked in the event of a violation and “several significant changes” were made to the application process, requirements, and cost.

Occupy Columbus was “forced to remove its tent from the area where it had previously been allowed to maintain the tent by permit, and the group does not have the funds to apply for new permits under the new requirements.” The group, with the assistance of the ACLU, has claimed that these alterations “limit the freedom of speech and assembly of various organizations.”