Civil liberties groups sue Trump, Barr for forcefully removing Lafayette Square protesters

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Source: Washington Post

The American Civil Liberties Union and Black Lives Matter on Thursday accused President Trump and his administration of authorizing an “unprovoked and frankly criminal attack” on demonstrators to enable a photo op of the president holding a Bible in front of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church.

In a federal lawsuit, the groups asserted that U.S. and military police officers’ use of horses, batons, shields and riot control agents — including pepper spray, smoke canisters and rubber or plastic projectiles — violated largely peaceful protesters’ constitutional rights of free speech and assembly 30 minutes before a citywide curfew took effect Monday.

The suit — which also names Attorney General William P. Barr as a defendant — was brought by the ACLU of the District of Columbia, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. All plaintiffs said they were gathered peacefully to protest the death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other similar deaths.

“We won’t be silenced by tear gas and rubber bullets,” said April Goggans, core organizer of Black Lives Matter D.C., the lead plaintiff in the case. “What happened to our members Monday evening, here in the nation’s capital, was an affront to all our rights.” ACLU officials called the lawsuit the first of many it intends to file in response to violence by police against protesters and journalists in demonstrations that have erupted in all 50 states, saying the attorney general has become complicit in attacks on First Amendment rights.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/civil-liberties-groups-sue-president-trump-barr-for-forcefully-removing-lafayette-square-protesters/2020/06/04/e32c799a-a676-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_protestaclu-615pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

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This news made my day. Time for another contribution to the ACLU......

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R!

TY!

[Nikki28]

2. i am

so glad to hear this news. I want this to add to the march of these kids. I want them to drag this on until the election and get the Black Panthers and protesters to have bodyguards and have signs that tells them they want them in prison along with the Repuke party. I am so glad to hear this. It falls right into the racism going on now.Bring those over weight criminal bears down!

[bucolic_frolic]

3. It is very reassuring that defenders of the Constitution still have the room and muscle

to throw their weight around. We may appear to be flailing elbows but we are generating space and momentum.

[Alex4Martinez]

4. K&R (nt)

[keithbvadu2]

5. His supporters say he is supporting religious freedom.

His supporters say he is supporting religious freedom.

Yeah! Right!

Kicking a priest and follower out of their church by gov't force is their idea of 'religious freedom'.

[Karadeniz]

6. I sure hope the courts allow this to proceed.

[OutfWatr]

7. Lawsuits

Such great news. This kind of immediate response and action has been needed for a long time. The law of physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Take them to court for every illegal thing they do to protesters in every state. Prosecute the bugaloos for organizing their illegal violence under the guise of legitimate protesters. The DC mayor should confront those little green men. If they can't show by whose authority they are there, arrest them for impersonating law enforcement officers and posing a threat. Are they Blackwater? Congress should have sued Barr the moment Mueller report came out. All honest AGs should have asked the Bar Association to disbar Barr for lack if integrity, ethics...while signing letters asking for his resignation.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Link to the complaint and a press release regarding this legal action....

The complaint can be found here: https://www.washlaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BLMDC-v.-Trump-Complaint-AS-FILED.pdf

Washington Lawyers’ Committee Press Room
Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump, Barr for Tear-Gassing Peaceful Protesters Outside White House
06.4.2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2020
Contacts: Gregg Kelley, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, [e-mail], [phone]

Read it here: https://www.washlaw.org/civil-rights-groups-sue-trump-barr-for-tear-gassing-peaceful-protesters-outside-white-house/

(snip)

The case filed today, Black Lives Matter D.C. v. Trump, on behalf of Black Lives Matter D.C. and five individual protesters who were assaulted at Lafayette Square, asserts that Trump, Barr, and numerous other high-level federal officials and line officers of the Secret Service, Park Police, D.C. National Guard, U.S. Military Police, and Arlington County Police violated protesters’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech and assembly, violated their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures, and engaged in a conspiracy to violate their civil rights. The case seeks an injunction against future such attacks and damages for the injuries sustained by the individual plaintiffs—including a 9-year-old boy—and Black Lives Matter D.C.. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

KY...........

[Gothmog]

9. This will be a fun lawsuit to watch