Washington man detained for performing 'Star Wars' Imperial March while protesting National Guard troops
A Washington man filed a lawsuit Thursday, claiming he was detained for performing Darth Vader's “Star Wars” theme while protesting National Guard troops patrolling the city during President Trump's crackdown on crime.
National Guard PHOTO: X
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of Sam O'Hara against four Metropolitan Police Department officers and a member of the Ohio National Guard, seeking damages for alleged First and Fourth Amendment violations, false arrest/imprisonment; violence, writes Axios.
After Trump deployed the National Guard from Washington and other US states as part of his anti-crime measures, O'Hara began protesting the deployment by performing the song “The Imperial March” from “The Empire Strikes Back”the second film in the original trilogy Star Wars while filming National Guard troops on city streets.
Most members of the Guard “they ignored him” on O'Hara and “a few smiled or laughed” to his actions, and he uploaded the videos to TikTok, where they were viewed by “millions” times, according to the court filing.
Ohio National Guard “she was not amused by this satire” and “threatened to call the police officers from Washington to “deal” with the protester if he persists”, when the incident occurred on Sept. 11, ACLU attorneys allege in their complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Columbia.
The complaint alleges that O'Hara was using her phone “and sometimes a small loudspeaker, he played the Imperial March as he walked, keeping the music at a volume that was audible but not explosive'.
Washington police arrived and handcuffed him “close” and detained O'Hara for 15-20 minutes, according to his attorneys.
guard he “signaled” officers and that O'Hara was “released without further incident.”
“The law could have tolerated such government behavior a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the ACLU attorneys state in the lawsuit.
“But here and now, the First Amendment prohibits government officials from stopping peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District's prohibition on false arrest) prohibits warrantless seizures.”
