Nikki explains the issue in Saturday’s arrest at the Jefferson Memorial:

this is about the transparent enforcement of a clear rule of law, and the need for easy access to laws. it is becoming increasingly evident they the dancers were allowed to be there, and officers could not cite any type of rule authorizing the arrest. this strongly suggests they either a) didn’t know one or b) didn’t think she needed to know. that is what this is about.

this is about detaining a human being without citing or, as it seems having, just cause. this is moreover about the real possibility that, everywhere around the united states, countless individuals outside the jefferson 1′s socioeconomic status and education level are arrested without being given the “privilege” to ask what they did wrong or be shown the law in writing. and they may not have the resources to fight back. more importantly, they mayn’t feel that they can or even should fight back. that is what this is about.

That girl needs to find herself a working shift key, but other than that she’s spot on. The issue here isn’t whether we can come up with a tortured rationalization for what the police did. The issue is that the police have an obligation to serve and protect, and that includes an obligation to err on the side of not using coercion unless the law clearly authorizes it. “Crimes” like “interfering with an agency function” make a mockery of the rule of law by allowing officers to arrest people for general disobedience, regardless of the justice of their orders.

And as Nikki points out, not everyone is a highly-educated white girl with a politically-connected family and dozens of friends who are journalists and lawyers. Brooke has a support network that will likely ensure she won’t suffer too much from the arrest. When cops show the same kind of belligerent attitude toward people without Brooke’s knowledge and connections, things can turn out much worse. The issue isn’t the dancing, or the details of what the law does or doesn’t allow. The issue is the apparent attitude of the police that when they see someone doing something they don’t understand, their first instinct should be to order them to stop, and their second instinct is to arrest anyone who doesn’t meekly comply. That’s not how police officers behave in a free society.