In 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union in Vermont issued a report expressing concern over federal law enforcement activities which the ACLU describe as "overzealous" and "unconstitutional".
The ACLU-VT sent letters to law enforcement officials calling for an end to the illegal targeting of Rainbow Gathering attendees expressing First Amendment rights on public land.
In an October 2008 report the American Civil Liberties Union stated, "The U.S. Forest Service systematically harasses people who attend Rainbow Family gatherings on public lands."

All major gatherings in the United States are held on National Forest land, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service, a federal agency with its own federal law enforcement officers.
County sheriffs have concurrent jurisdiction on all forest lands, as do county police and local police depending on location, community boundaries and locals laws.
So too do state law enforcement agencies, namely state wildlife wardens, state troopers and state police or bureaus of investigation.
Many local gatherings occur in remote areas, with county sheriffs being the primary response.
They often request deputies from neighboring counties and officers from area police departments.
Additionally, it is common for state conservation and wildlife officers and state troopers to deploy.
The Forest Service has often received assistance from the FBI, US Marshalls for fugitives, DEA for drug trafficking and other federal agencies.
The USFS has tried to prevent these gatherings from taking place because it denies all others access to the forest and the surrounding area for the duration of the gathering   or insisted that a group-use permit be signed, contending that this is standard practice for large groups wishing to camp on public land and that it is necessary to protect public safety and the local environment.
Gathering organizers generally contend that the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights give them the right to peaceably assemble on public land and that requiring a permit would violate that basic right by turning it into a privilege to be regulated. (
The Gatherings did attempt to initially work within the permit system starting in 1976, but found the government-imposed requirements for facilities and insurance too onerous.)

In 1984, the Forest Service enacted a regulation requiring a permit for any expressive assembly of ten or more people on Forest Service lands.
This was unenforced for a year and a half before the Service attempted to apply it to the gathering in Arizona in 1986.
Judge Bilby called attention to the selective enforcement of the regulation, and in any case ruled it unconstitutional, in part because it required expressive assemblies, but not non-expressive ones, to obtain permits.

The U.S. government has in the past pressured individuals to be representatives of the Gathering (e.g., to sign a permit),  however, this is in violation of the well-established Rainbow principle that "no individual may officially represent the Family as a whole."
A number of court cases have resulted from both Forest Service prosecutions and Rainbow Family-inspired legal actions against enforcement activities; the Forest Service found itself rebuffed by the judge in a defendant class suit originating from the 1987 North Carolina gathering, among other defeats.

A notable account of Gathering relations with law enforcement,  Judge Dave and the Rainbow People, was written by U.S. Federal Judge David Sentelle.
The book provides a first hand account of Sentelle's role in presiding over the 1987 case brought by the State of North Carolina in an attempt to stop the Gathering, including site visits to the Gathering and related legal actions.
Garrick Beck, a Rainbow Family member involved in the 1987 case, wrote an afterword to the book in which he expresses agreement with Sentelle's characterizations.
In that particular gathering, numerous state arrests were made for breaches of the peace, alcohol and traffic violations and interfering with officers.
The federal court allowed
In 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union in Vermont issued a report expressing concern over federal law enforcement activities which the ACLU describe as "overzealous" and "unconstitutional". The ACLU-VT sent letters to law enforcement officials calling for an end to the illegal targeting of Rainbow Gathering attendees expressing First Amendment rights on public land. In an October 2008 report the American Civil Liberties Union stated, "The U.S. Forest Service systematically harasses people who attend Rainbow Family gatherings on public lands."
All major gatherings in the United States are held on National Forest land, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service, a federal agency with its own federal law enforcement officers. County sheriffs have concurrent jurisdiction on all forest lands, as do county police and local police depending on location, community boundaries and locals laws. So too do state law enforcement agencies, namely state wildlife wardens, state troopers and state police or bureaus of investigation. Many local gatherings occur in remote areas, with county sheriffs being the primary response. They often request deputies from neighboring counties and officers from area police departments. Additionally, it is common for state conservation and wildlife officers and state troopers to deploy. The Forest Service has often received assistance from the FBI, US Marshalls for fugitives, DEA for drug trafficking and other federal agencies. The USFS has tried to prevent these gatherings from taking place because it denies all others access to the forest and the surrounding area for the duration of the gathering   or insisted that a group-use permit be signed, contending that this is standard practice for large groups wishing to camp on public land and that it is necessary to protect public safety and the local environment. Gathering organizers generally contend that the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights give them the right to peaceably assemble on public land and that requiring a permit would violate that basic right by turning it into a privilege to be regulated. (The Gatherings did attempt to initially work within the permit system starting in 1976, but found the government-imposed requirements for facilities and insurance too onerous.)
In 1984, the Forest Service enacted a regulation requiring a permit for any expressive assembly of ten or more people on Forest Service lands. This was unenforced for a year and a half before the Service attempted to apply it to the gathering in Arizona in 1986. Judge Bilby called attention to the selective enforcement of the regulation, and in any case ruled it unconstitutional, in part because it required expressive assemblies, but not non-expressive ones, to obtain permits.
The U.S. government has in the past pressured individuals to be representatives of the Gathering (e.g., to sign a permit),  however, this is in violation of the well-established Rainbow principle that "no individual may officially represent the Family as a whole." A number of court cases have resulted from both Forest Service prosecutions and Rainbow Family-inspired legal actions against enforcement activities; the Forest Service found itself rebuffed by the judge in a defendant class suit originating from the 1987 North Carolina gathering, among other defeats.
A notable account of Gathering relations with law enforcement,  Judge Dave and the Rainbow People, was written by U.S. Federal Judge David Sentelle. The book provides a first hand account of Sentelle's role in presiding over the 1987 case brought by the State of North Carolina in an attempt to stop the Gathering, including site visits to the Gathering and related legal actions. Garrick Beck, a Rainbow Family member involved in the 1987 case, wrote an afterword to the book in which he expresses agreement with Sentelle's characterizations. In that particular gathering, numerous state arrests were made for breaches of the peace, alcohol and traffic violations and interfering with officers. The federal court allowed 
Rainbow Gathering