NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A federal agency has denied protesters a permit to hold a rally in front of the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, days before an "Occupy the Courts" protest planned for Friday at courthouses across the country. Organizers intended the protest to mark two years since the 2010 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that the government cannot ban corporate spending on political campaigns.

Gideon Oliver, a lawyer representing the protesters, said the New York permit denial -- by the General Services Administration, which manages most federal buildings -- was the only one among 111 rallies scheduled on Friday.

After the denial, the protesters, led by a coalition known as Move to Amend, moved the event to Zuccotti Park, the birthplace of the Occupy movement, pending an appeal.

Plans for a subsequent march and rally at Foley Square, across the street from the courthouse, remain unchanged. The group has applied for a city permit for that event, since Foley Square is a city-owned plaza. Expected speakers include music mogul Russell Simmons and author Christopher Hedges.

Oliver has filed an administrative appeal with the GSA, which denied the permit application from a member of Occupy Wall Street last Friday.

In letters to the Occupy member, Jarret Wolfman, a GSA representative noted that the courthouse required "increased security" Friday due to a citizenship ceremony in the morning and the installation of a new federal judge in the afternoon.

"The activity proposed in your application will interfere with these events," wrote Wesley French of the GSA in denying the application.

'UNREASONABLE' RESTRICTION ON SPEECH

In his appeal, Oliver argued that the denial is an "unreasonable" restriction on free speech. He said in a phone interview Tuesday that the area outside the courthouse routinely accommodates gatherings for various reasons without any trouble.

"It's not clear how the installation of a judge inside the building should prevent a fairly small gathering of people outside the building," he said.

Oliver said he was hopeful the GSA would respond to the appeal in time for Friday's rally.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax)

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