The Boise City Council changed its noise ordinance, this week allowing citizens to use loudspeakers and megaphones in peaceful protests without retaliation from police.
The change comes after the Idaho Chapter of the Sierra Club won a federal lawsuit filed against the city last April. The suit alleged the City of Boise violated citizens’ First amendment rights by ticketing or detaining protestors who use loudspeakers and megaphones.
Ritchie Eppink, a lawyer for Wrest Collective, represented the Sierra Club in this case. He said the Club discussed legal action with Wrest for two years before filing a lawsuit against the city.
“After a series of arrests and tickets for protesters using megaphones in Boise, they decided that the time had come to challenge that ordinance because it's plainly unconstitutional,” said Eppink.
Two weeks after the lawsuit was filed in 2024, the Idaho District Court Judge issued a temporary injunction protecting the Sierra Club’s use of megaphones in peaceful protests.
Tuesday’s amendment provides that same protection for any peaceful assembly in Boise. It also requires the City to pay the Sierra Club an $80,000 settlement.
The Sierra Club says it will continue to “advocate for fair and constitutional protections for all protesters in Boise.”
