The District of Columbia government has reached a financial settlement with a protester who was detained and handcuffed for following National Guard members while playing Darth Vader's theme song in Washington, D.C.
The American Civil Liberties Union represented the protester, Sam O'Hara, and stated in a press release that O'Hara was being compensated.
O'Hara said in a statement that the government's efforts to silence him ultimately backfired and brought more attention to the unjust deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C.
"This settlement serves as a reminder that constitutional freedoms are worth defending, especially when those in power would prefer we stay quiet," O'Hara said.
In September, O'Hara protested against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to send National Guard troops to D.C., using the theme music for Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers.
According to the ACLU, "most community members got the point of the protest and so did several members of the Guard, who either smiled or laughed in response," but one Guard member from Ohio was not amused and called D.C. police.
The group subsequently launched a lawsuit, stating the alleged detention violated O'Hara's First and Fourth Amendment rights, which bar government officials from shutting down peaceful protests and bar groundless seizures by the government.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the legal director of the ACLU District of Columbia stated that O'Hara received "a significant amount" that he was "pleased with."
The settlement resolves part of the case involving the D.C. government and four of its police officers, while the lawsuit against the Ohio National Guard member who allegedly called police to stop O'Hara's protest is still pending.
