Charlottesville, Va., has become the first city in the country to pass a resolution restricting the use of drones, local media reported.

The Charlottesville City Council on Monday night rebuffed an attempt to totally ban unmanned aircraft in the city’s airspace, according to U.S. News & World Report, and instead passed a resolution that pledges that the city will not use information obtained by drones in court.

Local activist David Swanson and The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties group, brought the resolution to council members, saying it would lead to a surveillance society as depicted in George Orwell’s "1984" with its ubiquitous “Big Brother.”

"Drones will spy on us without our permission in violation of our constitutional rights under the 4th Amendment," Swanson said, according to WDIV-TV.

The resolution was narrowly passed 3-2. One of the measure’s opponents, Councilwoman Kristin Szakos, said she thought the vote was premature and that there were positive uses for drones.

Unmanned aircraft, or drones, are widely used by the U.S. military for reconnaissance and even to kill terror leaders. Their use domestically has become controversial over privacy concerns.

The FAA has issued permits to 358 public institutions – including 14 universities and colleges – to fly unmanned aircraft. Those permits are primarily for research and to monitor border activity. To date, the FAA has rejected requests by police departments who want to use them to survey crime-infested areas.

The University of Virginia in Charlotte does not currently have an FAA permit to operate drones, according to U.S. News and World Report.

In a statement, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, said he hoped other local governments would follow suit.

“As with other weapons of war which have become routine weapons of compliance domestically, such as tasers and sound cannons, once drones are unleashed on the American people, there will be no limiting their use by government agencies,” Whitehead said in a statement.

Related:

Legal experts fear implications of White House drone memo

Justice Department memo reveals legal case for drone strikes on Americans

Anticipating domestic boom, colleges rev up drone piloting programs

A Newark, N.J., City Council meeting to decide who would fill a vacant council seat descended into chaos, with angry residents rushing the stage and police using pepper spray to end the near-riot, according to media reports.

Dozens of people rushed the stage Tuesday night after Mayor Cory Booker made a rare appearance at the meeting and cast the deciding vote to fill the vacancy left by Donald Payne Jr., who was elected to Congress, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.

Booker, invoking a law that gives the mayor a vote in the absence of a quorum, backed Shanique Davis Speight for the seat, raising the ire of many in the packed council chamber who supported John Sharpe James, the son of former mayor Sharpe James. James is an avowed opponent of Booker, who lost to James’ father in the 2002 mayoral race before winning in 2006.

An attempt was made to swear in Speight, but people in the audience protested, with some chanting, "Cory's gotta go!" Several people in the audience shouted and gestured animatedly toward the stage, ignoring appeals to sit down.

“People in the crowd stood up and said it was unlawful,” South Ward Councilman Ras Baraka told the Montclair Patch.

Speight was ultimately ushered out of the room and sworn in later by the city clerk.

Police moved in to try to control the crowd after a group, led by SEIU Local 617 President Rahaman Muhammad, rushed toward the dais, the Newark Star-Ledger reported. In the chaos, people were shoved, a podium was knocked over and an officer doused Muhammad with pepper spray, according to the Star-Ledger. Others in the hall snapped pictures and video of the chaos on their cellphones and tablet computers.

Earl Best, a community activist known as "Street Doctor," told the Montclair Patch he was also sprayed and had to go to a hospital for treatment. Baraka said his mother had also been sprayed, according to the Montclair Patch. 

Muhammad was arrested and charged with assaulting Speight and City Clerk Robert Marasco, resisting arrest and inciting a riot, Police Director Samuel DeMaio told the Star-Ledger.

DeMaio said the officer’s use of the pepper spray will be reviewed but noted that it might be warranted in such a chaotic scenario.

"From what I see right now at face value, in the situation that they had there with the crowd surging toward the council desk … the officer made a decision," he said, according to the Star-Ledger.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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