Vessel forced out of New York ship parade over 'politically charged' banners

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

July 5, 2026 12:04 AM EDT Updated 42 mins ago


NEW YORK, July 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard said "politically charged" messages led to the removal of an environmental ​group's vessel from a fleet of sailing ships gathered in New ‌York on Saturday to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary.

A ship owned by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater environmental organization was forced out of the Sail4th 250 parade in New York Harbor, ​the Coast Guard said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The ship had ​banners that read, "Save the Clean Water Act" and "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, ⁠Climate Solutions".

Participants in the event had agreed to refrain from displaying political or ​politically charged messages or statements, according to the Coast Guard, which said it enforced ​the agreement on behalf of Sail4th.

"The owner of the sloop Clearwater was contacted and requested to remove the message being displayed or be removed from the parade of sail," the Coast ​Guard said. "They declined to remove it."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/vessel-forced-out-new-york-ship-parade-over-politically-charged-banners-2026-07-05/

---

First Amendment for me but not for thee.

[wolfie001]

1. If we regain power, anyone responsible for that decision should be fired

Traitor to free speech.

[Hugin]

2. Those banners seem to hardly be anything controversial.

It’s the slippery slope of censorship at work.

[3Hotdogs]

3. Dunno on this one. Maybe "no politics' was how the 4th was supposed to be celebrated.... a day with unity as a theme.

I recall being at one of the Clearwater summer festivals. Pete Seeger was there and wanted people to walk down to the river and sing with him to welcome the County Commissioner. He made up a ditty as we walked down to the dock. I support Clearwater and its mission.

But maybe there is a time and place for messages, no matter how much I agree with the message.

Did another boats or ships have messages?

[mopinko]

4. yeah, agreed to no politics

then had a pretty amateur sign. at least b sneaky, ppl.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. The US President was busy with his own political messages at July 4th celebrations

President Donald Trump mentioned his disdain for communism multiple times in his July Fourth speech.

“The communist system is the opposite of the American system, and the communist system has never worked. Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world, only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America,” he said.

His comments are the latest in a series of public attacks on the ideology after democratic socialists have won in Democratic primaries across the country.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/04/us/live-news/july-4-trump-speech-america-250?post-id=cmr792ght00053b6r6tl4lvzn

President Donald Trump made a brief argument for the passage of his federal elections overhaul bill, the “SAVE America Act,” during his July Fourth speech at the National Mall, adding a touch of politics in remarks that mostly praised war veterans who fought to preserve the country.

“Today our country is winning again, and we’re winning like never before. America is back, and we want to keep America great, and we will do so by approving the SAVE America Act, which means all voters must show voter ID … all voters must provide a little thing called proof of citizenship,” Trump said about the legislation, which faces an uphill battle on Capitol Hill.

“And there will be no mail-in ballots, except for illness, disability, military deployment or travel, and you won’t have cheating on the elections anymore. It’s very simple,” Trump added. (Though Trump has consistently cast mail-in ballots as fraudulent, he voted by mail in Florida’s special election in March.)

Trump also brought up the SAVE America Act during remarks at Mount Rushmore on Friday night, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune in the audience.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/04/us/live-news/july-4-trump-speech-america-250?post-id=cmr78t2tf000e3b6rxm0jppbj

So It's OK If You're A Republican.

[Polybius]

8. How can the two be compared?

One was on a ship parade where no political signs were allowed, while the other were statements where politics is allowed.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. One was a suggestion to keep a bipartisan act; the other was a suggestion to pass a partisan act

One was a general statement of moral things to support; the other was an attack on a specific type of politics. Both were at July 4th events.

There, I compared them very easily. Trump's was clearly more political - "Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, ⁠Climate Solutions" is a very general statement that is not party political.

[Polybius]

22. The two have absolutely nothing to do with each other

[PJMcK]

7. I cannot count the number of Trump flags I've seen in NY harbor

The snowflake-in-chief can dish it out but can't take it.

The 1st Amendment prohibits the government from stifling free speech. It really its that simple.

In the era of Trump, this right -- along with all the others-- musty be protected.

[chelsea0011]

5. Politics? Not allowed?

How so 1776🇺🇸

[PJMcK]

10. It's bullshit

Listen to Trump's speech last night.

A banner on a boat was unacceptable but Trump's words are okay?

Bullshit.

[Igel]

17. It was the organizer's platform.

If the environmental group had sponsored an event, it would have been their platform. They agreed to the ground rules, had the option to abide by their agreement, and freely chose not to. Maybe different people made the differing decisions, maybe they assumed the first decision would be non-binding.

As for Trump, it sort of was his platform. It would be interesting to have some event organized, invite him to speak provided he avoided certain topics--and then have him agree to the limitations--and then just kill his mic when he decided to focus on what he had agreed to not talk about.

[SergeStorms]

9. Why? Because....

having clean water to drink is so subversive?

[tonekat]

11. Screw the Coast Guard

They have flipped to the dark side.

[Kid Berwyn]

13. NAZI

6. Controlled Mass Media

https://globaljusticecenter.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Fascism-handout.pdf

[SamuelAdams]

14. I didn't realize it was the Coast Guard's job to regulate messages displayed on ships.

[reACTIONary]

19. An analogy might be...

... a parade organized by a private group that has a permit that allows them exclusive use of a route for the parade. The police block off the parade route and do crowd management during the parade. If someone from outside the permitted organization attempts to join the parade, the police might prohibit them from doing so. Under those circumstances I'm not sure that that would constitute the regulation of speech.

[Bayard]

15. I guess a boat with a flag saying, "Release the Epstein Files,"

Wouldn't fly long.

[Blues Heron]

16. fuck this fascist shit, we have a first ammendment right to free speech. Government may not regulate it, period.

[snot]

18. I hope they continued to sail around

separately from the parade but within sight of the shore.

[mdbl]

20. Only assholes allowed

That's the new motto of the US.

[SunSeeker]

21. But white nationalists carrying confederate flags can march through DC's festivities. Got it.