{"id":8294,"date":"2025-10-24T04:07:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T04:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/man-detained-in-national-guard-protest-sues\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T04:07:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T04:07:45","slug":"man-detained-in-national-guard-protest-sues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/man-detained-in-national-guard-protest-sues\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Detained in National Guard Protest Sues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tA Washington, D.C., man who was detained after playing the Evil Empire music from Star Wars<\/em> to protest National Guard troops is suing the government for violating his constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a lawsuit filed Thursday (Oct. 23), Sam O\u2019Hara claims that he was wrongfully handcuffed and detained for playing \u201cThe Imperial March\u201d \u2014 John Williams\u2019 iconic villain music from the sci-fi franchise \u2014 as he recorded videos of the troops that he later posted to TikTok.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe case, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claims the brief detention violated O\u2019Hara\u2019s right to peacefully protest under the U.S. Constitution\u2019s First Amendment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,\u201d the ACLU wrote, playing on the famed opening text from Star Wars<\/em>. \u201cBut in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Imperial March (Darth Vader\u2019s Theme),\u201d written by Williams, first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back<\/em>, the 1980 sequel to the original Star Wars<\/em>. The famed composer\u2019s score for the film reached the No. 4 spot on the Billboard 200 in July 1980, eventually spending 28 weeks on the chart.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn the Star Wars franchise, The Imperial March is the music that plays when Darth Vader or other dark forces enter a scene or succeed in their dastardly plans,\u201d O\u2019Hara\u2019s lawyers write. \u201cIt is also the soundtrack of Sam O\u2019Hara\u2019s protest against the National Guard deployment in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tPresident Donald Trump declared a \u201ccrime emergency\u201d in Washington, D.C., in August and ordered the takeover of law enforcement in the city, with National Guard troops arriving in the capital shortly thereafter. The move, along with other military deployments to American cities, has been deeply controversial and led to widespread protests.<\/p>\n

\n\tO\u2019Hara, who was \u201cdeeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods,\u201d began protesting their presence in his city by walking behind them as they marched through the streets \u2014 and by playing a score recognized globally as a theme for tyranny.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cUsing his phone and sometimes a small speaker, he played The Imperial March as he walked, keeping the music at a volume that was audible but not blaring,\u201d the ACLU\u2019s lawyers write. \u201cMr. O\u2019Hara recorded the encounters and posted the videos on his TikTok account, where millions of people have viewed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tAccording to O\u2019Hara, most National Guardsmen \u201cignored Mr. O\u2019Hara, and a few smiled or laughed,\u201d but one was \u201cnot amused by this satire.\u201d The trooper, Sgt. Devon Beck, allegedly turned around and threatened to call in local police to \u201chandle\u201d him if he kept playing the song. When O\u2019Hara kept going, he says Metropolitan Police Department officers quickly arrived and put him in cuffs, shutting down his protest.<\/p>\n

\n\tO\u2019Hara says the cuffs were placed so tightly that they left marks on his wrists, and were not loosened after he complained. He also says his detention was \u201cneedlessly\u201d prolonged before he was eventually released 15 to 20 minutes later.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn technical terms, the lawsuit names Beck, four D.C. police officers, and the D.C. District Attorney as defendants. It accuses them of violating both the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures.<\/p>\n

\"Billboard<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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