Man arrested after playing Darth Vader theme behind troops, ACLU sues
A Washington, D.C. man named Sam O’Hara was arrested after playing “the Imperial March” (the Darth Vader theme from Star Wars) behind a National Guard member during the Guard’s deployment in the city. The arrest was made by federalized Metropolitan Police officers, who accused O’Hara of harassing the National Guard. Represented by the ACLU, O’Hara has filed a lawsuit claiming that his actions were a peaceful protest against the National guard presence and are protected under the First and Fourth Amendments. the case, overseen by Judge Timothy James Kelly, challenges what the ACLU describes as an unlawful suppression of peaceful protest and false arrest. The lawsuit names the arrested officer and others, as well as District officials, as defendants. The National Guard has been deployed in D.C.for over two months following a crime emergency declaration, with plans for a possibly extended presence.
Man arrested after playing Darth Vader theme behind Guard troops, ACLU sues on his behalf
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of a Washington, D.C., man who was arrested after playing “The Imperial March” from Star Wars behind National Guard troops in the district.
Officers of the federalized Metropolitan Police Department arrested 35-year-old Sam O’Hara for playing the song behind Ohio National Guard member Devon Beck in mid-September, according to the complaint. O’Hara followed Beck and recorded him on his cellphone while playing the song in the Logan Circle neighborhood of the district. The MPD officers told him he was detained for “harassing the National Guard,” according to the lawsuit.
O’Hara’s attorney, Michael Perloff of Washington’s ACLU, argued in the complaint that O’Hara was peacefully protesting the National Guard presence in the district. He said O’Hara had played the song behind National Guard members on three separate occasions and posted the videos on his TikTok account in protest of the deployment.
“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy
far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from
shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition
on false arrest) bars groundless seizures,” Perloff wrote in the complaint.
The ACLU attorney filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. President Donald Trump-appointed Judge Timothy James Kelly will serve as the presiding judge in the case.
The lawsuit comes as the National Guard has been deployed in Washington for over two months after Trump originally declared a crime emergency in the capital. As of the latest order, the guard will stay in the district until at least Nov. 30, though officials told the troops to “prepare for a long-term persistent presence” in the capital.
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O’Hara’s lawsuit names Beck, Washington, D.C., and the responding MPD officers JM Campbell, Tiffany Brown, Edward Reyes-Benigno, and Alfozo Lopez Martinez as defendants. The court sent a summons to each of the individuals — Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, and the district, in care of the District’s Office of the Attorney General.
Bowser’s officer declined to comment on the lawsuit. Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
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