Anna Bradley-Smith  |  June 23, 2021

Category: Legal News

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Claims filed by protestors forcibly removed from Lafayette Square during BLM protests dismissed by US judge.
(Photo Credit: Joao Kermadec/Shutterstock)

U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich’s ruling to throw out most of the claims in four overlapping lawsuits filed by protestors against the federal officials after they were forcibly removed from Lafayette Square is a “stunning rejection of our constitutional values,” an American Civil Liberties Union D.C. spokesperson says.

The four lawsuits were filed against then-President Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr, and other federal officials in 2020 on behalf of protesters who were peacefully protesting in Lafayette Square on June 1 when they were forcibly removed to enable a photo-op for Trump, Law360 reports.

According to the claims, protestors were injured and traumatized after being tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and hit with rubber by military police and members of the National Guard, the US Park Police, and the US Secret Service.

However, on Monday Friedrich rejected all but one claim, saying concerns of national security, a lack of ongoing injury, and no proof of conspiracy outweighed proceeding with the claims.

American Civil Liberties Union D.C. Legal Director Scott Michelman told Law360 that the ruling gave the federal government a green light to use violence against protesters under the guise of protecting national security.

“Under today’s decision, Lafayette Square is now a Constitution-free zone when it comes to the actions of federal officials. Not only is this decision a stunning rejection of our constitutional values and protesters’ First Amendment rights, but it effectively places federal officials above the law,” he said.

He said that the “blitzkrieg” event was a stain on the country’s commitment to the Constitution.

Friedrich said that the protesters’ claims for damages over alleged violations of their rights did not stand up against threats to national security and the safety of the president. “The national security considerations implicated in this context counsel against extending a damages remedy without congressional approval,” she wrote.

She also ruled that the court did not have jurisdiction to order an injunction ordering the defendants to change their response to protestors, as the protestors hadn’t proved ongoing injury or threat of injury, Law360 reports.

Claims in a lawsuit led by Black Lives Matter D.C. alleging that Trump, Barr, and former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper directed a conspiracy targeting Black people was also rejected, with Friedrich saying there was not adequate proof of conspiracy.

Friedrich did allow one claim against the federal officials to move forward, which alleged restrictions on protesters’ access to Lafayette Square violated the First Amendment.

“The complaint plainly challenges ongoing restrictions on access to Lafayette Square that have allegedly resulted from the defendants’ decision to build a fence around Lafayette Square and restrict access to it,” she said.

In regards to the claims against the D.C. National Guard, the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, and the Arlington County Police Department, Friedrich rejected claims of conspiracy but found the defendants violated protestors rights to free speech by firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

“Further, no alternative channels of communication were left open either in the forum itself, or in surrounding areas,” she said. “Accordingly, the plaintiffs have plausibly alleged a constitutional violation.”

Randy Mastro of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, representing the protestors, said that they would continue “to seek justice against those federal officials who succeeded in getting certain claims dismissed against them, and intend to appeal those rulings, because we aim to see to it that something this horrific never happens again in our country.”

Did you join Black Lives Matter protests last year? What was your experience with the police? Let us know in the comments section!

The plaintiffs are represented by Arnold & Porter, the ACLU of the District of Columbia, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and Regan Zambri Long PLLC.

The defendants are represented by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and the Office of the Arlington County Attorney.

The cases are Black Lives Matter D.C. et al. v. Donald J. Trump et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01469; Radiya Buchanan et al. v. Donald J. Trump et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01542; Isabella Kavanagh v. Donald J. Trump et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02163; and Ryan Roth v. Donald J. Trump et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01622, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.


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One thought on Federal Court Tosses Protestors’ Claims Against Trump, Federal Govt. in ‘Stunning Rejection of Constitutional Values’

  1. Darrell B Stewart says:

    Pls Add Me

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