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On March 18th in Cape May, participants ran into the Atlantic Ocean for the annual St. Paddy's Day Plunge.

CAPE MAY An ordinance recommended by City Council member Shaine Meier proposes new restrictions on public access to some areas of municipal buildings.

The proposal is not in response to any issue within the city, but rather in preparation for what are known as First Amendment audits, in which activists or self-identified citizen journalists video record interactions in public areas, including in city halls or other public buildings.

In multiple instances, people have posted video of interactions that arise when they take video in public areas, occasionally including confrontations or arguments. There are videos of audits in Vineland City Hall and another in Lower Township, which was posted in December.

That video has been viewed more than 340,000 times, and there is a phone number for Lower Township Hall included in the description. Employees at Township Hall said there was a flood of calls after the video was posted.

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Meier said he wants Cape May to be ready for a similar visit.

The ordinance, which still requires a public hearing and final vote, would add a new section to the city code, municipal buildings, restricted areas to safeguard records. It would prohibit public access to some areas of City Hall and other city buildings, citing the requirement to protect public records under New Jerseys Open Public Records Act.

The ordinance states that city employees cannot be expected to physically intervene to protect records. It lists multiple offices as restricted areas, including exceptions for the lobby and help desk areas. It also calls for signs that identify areas as restricted, stating Authorized employees only.

After the meeting, Meier said the ordinance grew out of concerns brought up through the Joint Insurance Fund, which provides insurance coverage for several communities, including Cape May.

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City attorney Christopher Gillin-Schwartz said those who want to access public records are free to fill out a request under the Open Public Records Act, often referred to as OPRA. There are rights of public access, he said, but they are not unlimited.

Although a public building may be a public building, that doesnt mean that its a complete free-for-all, he said. In this room (council chambers), people are free to walk in and if they want to take an iPhone video they can go for it.

Extensive case law has found that people have a right to take video of public meetings, and that there is no legal expectation of privacy in a public place. In the video taken in Vineland, a security guard at City Hall insists he should not be recorded if he does not want to be, but the poster keeps taking video.

SeanPaul Reyes, who posts video to YouTube as Long Island Audit, objected as another guard reached out to grab his phone.

You cannot video tape in here. This is a government building, a security guard states.

Youre in public, that means you have no expectation of privacy, Reyes says in the video.

Lower Township Manager Michael Laffey questions Reyes as he records video in the otherwise empty meeting room at Township Hall.

Who are you here to see? This is a township hall, Laffey says in the video.

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Im not here to see anybody, Reyes responds. He said his reason to visit Township Hall was to take photos and video as an independent journalist. Theres nothing nefarious going on here.

Reyes said he is working on a story but did not give any details on the story or provide identification.

Laffey said he had security concerns and asks him to leave the room.

Contacted on Friday, Laffey said Reyes was wearing a fanny pack and would not answer questions, prompting security concerns. He said since Sept. 11, 2001, all municipal officials have been urged to remain vigilant.

Laffey said Reyes was not confrontational and remained in the building for about 45 minutes.

Were pretty transparent in government. We have nothing to hide, he said. Police officers were in Township Hall for another purpose, and spoke with Reyes.

They just happened to be in the building at the same time. We didnt call the police because he was here, Laffey said.

On the video, one Lower Township officer said there can be trespassing charges on public property.

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Youre making everybody nervous, the officer said.

Anybodys allowed in the building here, Reyes said.

Later in the video, Sgt. Jason Felsing arrives, asking, Are you exercising your First Amendment right?

He suggests he will hang out with Reyes while he takes video and images.

Several of the doors in Lower Township have authorized personnel only signs. Reyes fills out an OPRA request for the names, salaries and email addresses of all township employees for 2022 and then leaves.

The safety directors office of the Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund, which can be thought of as a JIF for JIFs, put out a best practices statement in December 2019 for handling First Amendment audits.

It advises to prevent entry to restricted areas, and to instruct employees to remain calm and professional.

In many instances, the auditor will refuse to identify themselves, and may edit the video before posting, the notification warns.

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The attitude and demeanor of some of these people can be unnerving, annoying, flippant, aggressive, and on occasion, they may use foul and abusive language, it states. Unfortunately, many of these audits may become confrontational in nature.

Laffey said he plans to arrange a training session with the MEL, open to all county municipalities, with information on how to deal with First Amendment auditors.

In my opinion, they are doing this for a money grab, he said, both seeking donations and potentially seeking financial settlements in cases where they are removed from public buildings or confronted.

In other states, auditors have faced charges, or been detained or assaulted, and even shot. In 2019, a YouTube poster was shot in the leg by a security guard while taking video outside a Los Angeles synagogue, and in other instances, police have drawn their weapons on auditors.

Dekon Fashaw, the Cape May police chief, said his officers have had training from the state Attorney Generals Office in the First Amendment, and in responding to similar audits.

The Long Island Audit is one of multiple audit-oriented channels on YouTube. Some of Reyes videos have received millions of views, and he includes links to GoFundMe pages as well as to his Venmo, PayPal and other accounts seeking donations. He also offers T-shirts and other merchandise.

Reyes did not respond to an emailed request for an interview.

Reyes has faced charges in Maryland, where he recorded a police traffic stop, and in Connecticut, where he was cited on trespassing charges. According to media reports, Reyes has filed a lawsuit against the city of Danbury, Connecticut, alleging his Constitutional rights under the First and Fourth amendments were violated.

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In the Maryland instance, he wrote an apology and said his rights were not violated, according to news reports. In the statement, he said the officer who had stopped another driver had said he could record the stop, but told him to do it from a different location.

In an interview posted to YouTube in January, Reyes said he had been convicted of a felony 10 years ago.

The Cape May ordinance still needs a public hearing and final vote before it is official. Those are planned for the April 18 City Council meeting, 5 p.m. at City Hall, 643 Washington St.

Contact Bill Barlow:

609-272-7290

bbarlow@pressofac.com

Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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Cape May takes steps to head off 'First Amendment audits' - Press of Atlantic City