Richmond Tea Party: 'Occupy' Getting Special Treatment, Demands $10,000 Back From City

By Nando Di Fino, Mediaite

In April, the Richmond Tea Party held a Tax Day rally in Richmond’s Kanawha Plaza. Along with two more of their rallies, the group was charged about $10,000, and had to comply with a list of rules and regulations. Now they want their money back, saying that Occupy Wall Street protesters have been camping out and using the plaza for free since October 15. Colleen Owens, a Tea Party spokesperson, says that her group had to go through a litany of procedures — getting permits, paying for police, paying for port-o-potties, and paying for emergency personnel, among other things — while the Occupiers are getting use of the Plaza without incurring any expenses.

“The City of Richmond’s picking and choosing whose First Amendment rights trump someone else’s First Amendment rights and we thought–well that’s fine–then they can refund our money,” Owens told CBS 6′s Sandi Cauley. “If that’s how they’re going to run the city then they owe us our fees back.” Mayor Dwight C. Jones had no comment on the issue, as his office had not received any communication from the Tea Party (the letter asking for the refund was being sent on Friday), but at least one government official agrees with Owens: