WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia has reached a settlement agreement for an undisclosed amount of cash with a resident who claims police illegally detained him for following an Ohio Nationwide Guard patrol whereas enjoying Darth Vader’s theme tune from “Star Wars” on his cellphone — an act of protest towards the Trump administration’s federal law-enforcement surge within the nation’s capital.
A courtroom submitting late Thursday says the plaintiff, Sam O’Hara, will drop his lawsuit’s claims towards the district and 4 Metropolitan Police Division officers inside three enterprise days of receiving the settlement fee. The submitting does not specify a greenback quantity for the deal between the district and O’Hara, who’s represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia.
In an electronic mail on Friday, an ACLU spokesperson referred to the settlement’s monetary phrases as “a big quantity” that O’Hara “is happy with” however mentioned they are not disclosing the greenback determine to guard his privateness. A spokesperson for D.C. Lawyer Basic Brian Schwalb’s workplace declined to touch upon the settlement.
O’Hara’s settlement with the district does not resolve his associated claims towards an Ohio Nationwide Guard member. Attorneys for the Guard member, Sgt. Devon Beck, have requested a decide to dismiss O’Hara’s claims towards him.
“He was there as a result of that was his assigned obligation,” Beck’s attorneys wrote. “This was not an unintended encounter or a one-time disagreement on a public sidewalk.”
An earlier courtroom submitting, in February, mentioned O’Hara had reached a settlement settlement “in precept” with the district. In response, a decide agreed to droop the case whereas they negotiated phrases.
O’Hara sued the district final October, claiming cops violated his First Modification rights to free speech and his Fourth Modification rights towards unreasonable seizures and extreme power.
The ominous orchestral music of “The Imperial March” from Star Wars films was the soundtrack for O’Hara’s peaceable protests towards President Donald Trump’s ongoing deployment of Guard members in Washington. Tens of millions of TikTok customers have considered O’Hara’s videos of his interactions with troops, based on his lawsuit.
O’Hara, an artist who works within the hospitality trade, says he didn’t intervene with the Guard troops throughout their Sept. 11, 2025, encounter on a public road. One of many troops summoned Metropolitan Police Division officers, who stopped O’Hara and stored him handcuffed for 15 to twenty minutes earlier than releasing him with out fees, based on the lawsuit.
“The regulation may need tolerated authorities conduct of this type a very long time in the past in a galaxy far, distant. However within the right here and now, the First Modification bars authorities officers from shutting down peaceable protests,” the go well with says.
Trump, a Republican, issued an govt order declaring a crime emergency in Washington final August. Inside weeks, a whole lot of Guard troops and federal brokers have been serving to police patrol town. The surge inflamed tensions with residents of the closely Democratic district. A whole lot of Guard members remain deployed within the district practically a yr later, with no clear finish in sight.
