petition for redress of grievances

Santorum Petitioners Acquitted

How badly did Rick Santorum not want to be confronted by a ravening pack of 14 antiwar protesters intent on --brace yourself!--delivering a peace petition to his office?

[The protesters lawyer] said the 14 were arrested before they even had the chance to deliver their declaration of peace to Santorum's office. Four were arrested outside Santorum's office and others were in the lobby or trapped in an elevator that stopped when security personnel turned off the power.

Oh yeah, they were all acquitted today. Some unknown but presumably substantial amount of police, legal, and judicial time which the city and county of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania could perhaps have devoted to, oh, say, things like crime (of which Philly has no shortage at present) was drivelled away on thwarting citizens' civil rights.

I'd love to see these guys turn around and sue the shit out of Li'l Man-on-Dog Ricky, whose name is a byword everywhere canines fear to tread, for false arrest.