Written by Will Hekman
U.S District Judge Dabney Friedrich dismissed most cases filed by activist and civil liberties groups who claimed that then-President Donald Trump violated the civil rights of protestors in Lafayette Park when they were displaced by police.
The protestors had been protesting the death of George Floyd, whose death last summer sparked the nationwide protest. In Washington D.C, protestors outside of the White House became so unruly and violent that President Trump had to be moved to a secure location in the event of the protest becoming out of control. The protestors were cleared by police who used pepper balls and smoke bombs to disperse the unruly and violent crowd.
After the crowd had been displaced President Trump took photos outside of St. John’s Church in Lafayette Park, which had been damaged in the protest. President Trump’s actions sparked outrage from the protestors and civil liberties groups who claimed he violated civil rights by dispersing the crowd in order to take the photos.
Protestors and their lawyers claimed that President Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr conspired to violate the civil rights of the protestors, but Judge Friedrich dismissed their claims, saying that it was speculative and premature for the court to determine if the actions of the police officers involved were justified. The claims made against the Metropolitan Police and Arlington Police were allowed to proceed.
The lawsuit was filed by Black Lives Matter D.C. and was represented by lawyers from the ACLU of D.C., Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the law firm of Arnold & Porter. “ We will always stand up for the rights of those peacefully demonstrating for racial justice, and this ruling sends the wrong message for police accountability efforts at a time when it is needed the most,” said Arthur Ago, the director of the criminal justice project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
