Boise may change megaphone ban after it’s accused of targeting liberal groups

Boise is weighing a change to its noise ordinance after an environmental advocacy group accused city police of selectively enforcing the rule and using it to target liberal groups.

City officials drafted an amended version of the ordinance that bans the use of amplification devices, such as megaphones and microphones, in many public spaces. It also carves out an exception for rallies, marches or performances that allow demonstrators to exercise their First Amendment rights.

The proposed change is a term of a settlement between the Sierra Club and the city in April 2024 over a lawsuit, in which the organization argued that the vagueness and uneven enforcement of the ordinance was unconstitutional because it curtailed protesters’ free speech.

“Police are now using Boise’s ordinances to silence and chill protected free speech in public forums where it is the most protected: the streets, sidewalks, plazas, and parks of downtown Boise,” the Sierra Club wrote in its initial filing.

The group had long used megaphones in its protests despite the ordinance, but had noted an increase in enforcement since about 2021, when officers began ticketing and at times arresting protesters who broke the rule, Lisa Young, the director of the Sierra Club’s Idaho chapter, told the Idaho Statesman at the time.

“I’ve been an activist in this community for a long time, our lawyers have been working in this community for a long time,” Young said. “Boise is relatively small enough to where we know what happens in different protest spaces over the years, and we have never seen this prior to … essentially 2021. And then suddenly, the enforcement began. … For those of us in the local advocacy scene, there was a notable shift.”

Her organization’s complaint alleged that the Boise Police Department was targeting liberal groups who violated the ordinance, but not conservative groups — though Young told the Statesman the group had only anecdotal evidence to support that claim. At the Boise Pride Festival in 2024, for instance, Young said counter-protesters who were heckling with an amplified sound device were left alone.

“We have observed instances where there are people using other loudspeakers at events that we do not see the police intervening on,” she said.

Maria Ortega, a spokesperson for Boise, and Haley Williams, a spokesperson for Boise police, declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. In its response to the Sierra Club’s initial complaint, Boise denied that its police were making “arbitrary” decisions about when and how to enforce the city’s noise ordinance.

The question of how the police were enforcing the law was not ultimately addressed in the case, said attorney Ritchie Eppink, who represented the Sierra Club.

Instead, the group worked with Boise to come up with what Young called a “common-sense reform to an antiquated law.” The change brings the city’s code “up to constitutional standards that are going to benefit everyone in the city of Boise that is wanting to make their voice heard on whatever issues they care about,” she said.

If the Boise City Council approves the changes to the noise ordinance, which would take immediate effect, the Sierra Club has said it will complete the settlement of its lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Boise is set to pay the group $80,000 to cover its legal fees, according to court documents.

The new rule could be approved as early as July 8, Young said.