On his broadcast Monday evening December 14, Keith Olberman of MSNBC named John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute one of the 'Worst Persons in the World.' Whitehead was selected for ridicule because of his advocacy on behalf of Charlottesville-area demonstraters who have been restricted from protesting directly in front of the local office of Rep. Tom Perriello. Rich Collins was arrested in May of 2005 while campaigning in the Shoppers' World parking area. The following is a letter he sent to Whitehead.

Hello John, Worst Person in the World, Hero.

I think your suggestion that a Congressman's office be located in a place that provides opportunity for "assembly" and "petitioning" makes sense. Your suggestion opens the door to opportunities for the public to present their views in locations where private property interests (businesses sharing a parking lot, for example) can be negatively affected.

Perhaps some compromise between tenants sharing a parking lot or rental spaces might be negotiated with the owner of the property. I am not aware of the extent to which the protesters affected the other tenants and parking lot users. But, as in other cases, accomodations can be made which not only balance competing rights, but create a sense of community understanding and advance civility in the process.

I am personally aware of your efforts to strike a balance between private property rights and First Amendment freedoms. I know that your efforts and those of the ACLU in the shopping center case in which I was involved led to heavy criticisms of Rutherford from property rights extremists. I think your view on the shopping center situation made a useful distinction between properties that are functionally public fora, and other commercial settings in which the issue of public speech is evaluated by another standard. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. I think that Virginia law will some day soon vindicate the position Rutherford took in my instance.

Thank you for your vigilance, your courage, and your thoughtful efforts to advance the First Amendment with a sense of pragmatic adjustment where that opportunity presents itself..

Rich Collins (Electronic mail, December 15, 2009)