NYC Sued by Protester Arrested While Dressed as Hummer

[Arizona Hummerboy]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who was arrested while dressed as a gas guzzling Hummer sued New York City on Tuesday for putting the brakes on her one-person protest in front of an SUV dealership during the Republican National Convention.



Georgianna Page, who spent eight hours creating her large cardboard box costume, charged the city violated her civil rights when she was arrested and detained for several hours on Aug. 31. No charges were ever filed against her, the suit said.


The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court by the New York Civil Liberties Union, seeks unspecified damages.


According to the suit, Page heard there would be a peaceful protest in front of the Manhattan Hummer dealership that day and she arrived wearing her "Hummer" costume and a hand-lettered sign that read "Vampire Utility Vehicles: This is Your War."


Police arrested her for obstructing traffic, but Page said she had never left the sidewalk and did nothing wrong.


Page was arrested on a day that the police picked up 1,100 other people, most of whom have since had their cases dismissed, the NYCLU said.


A spokeswoman for the city's legal department said it had not received the suit and could not comment.