(trump-appointed) Judge tosses bulk of suit against feds from Lafayette Park protesters

[PSPS]

A federal judge has dismissed the bulk of a series of lawsuits against the federal government over the use of force to drive Black Lives Matter protesters out of Lafayette Park last year, but will allow protesters to continue to seek damages from Washington, D.C. and Arlington County, Va. over the actions of their police forces.

U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich rejected demonstrators’ claims for damages against former officials such as President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, as well as some current federal officials.

Friedrich, a Trump appointee also declined to consider requests for an injunction barring similar uses of force against protesters in the future. “The plaintiffs’ claims of impending future harm are too speculative to confer standing to seek an injunction,” Friedrich wrote in a 51-page decision released Monday afternoon.

Judge's decision here

The rest: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/21/judge-tosses-suit-lafayette-park-protesters-495370

[brooklynite]

1. I'm guessing most people won't bother to read the actual Court Ruling....

Taking the allegations of the complaint as true, as the Court must when ruling on a motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs have plausibly stated a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for First Amendment violations by Arlington County and District of Columbia officials. According to the complaints, the defendants used force, without warning, to break up a crowd of peaceful protestors who were exercising their First Amendment rights in Lafayette Square, a historic and “quintessential public forum,” Doe, 968 F.2d at 87, which provides a unique situs for the exercise of First Amendment rights,” A Quaker Action Grp., 516 F.2d at 725. As alleged, the defendants prohibited all expressive activities in Lafayette Square without any basis at all; they left open no alternative channels; and they forcibly dispersed protestors because of the plaintiffs’ exercise of their protected First Amendment rights. Reasonable officers would have known that such alleged actions violated clearly established law. Thus, the plaintiffs’ claims for damages against the Arlington County and D.C. officials survive the motions to dismiss.