ACLU steps in on latest Boardwalk busker complaint

The American Civil Liberties Union has written a letter that spells out a new grievance with the Ocean City Police Department and how it regulates Boardwalk performers’ freedom of speech.

City officials, however, say the letter is the result of a mistake compounded by a misunderstanding by the aggrieved party, who did not realize that he was never cited for breaking any rules.

The civil rights organization maintains that the department wrongfully cited a street performer, when police charged him for violating an ordinance that had been declared unconstitutional three years earlier.

According to the ACLU, an officer gave violinist Ion Lucian Ionescu a spoken warning after a merchant complained about the sound level of Ionescu’s amplifier. The following day, Ionescu was allegedly given a written citation for the same issue.

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