DC police detained man for protesting National Guard patrol with Darth Vader song, lawsuit says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme song from “Star Wars” on his phone sued the District of Columbia on Thursday, claiming the officers violated his constitutional rights.

Sam O’Hara’s federal lawsuit says the ominous orchestral music of “The Imperial March” is the soundtrack for his peaceful protests against President Donald Trump’s deployment of Guard members in Washington, D.C. Millions of TikTok users have viewed O’Hara’s videos of his interactions with troops, according to the suit, filed by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.

O’Hara, a 35-year-old Washington resident, says he didn’t interfere with the Ohio National Guard troops during their Sept. 11 encounter on a public street. One of the troops summoned Metropolitan Police Department officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.

“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,” his lawsuit says.

O’Hara also sued four MPD officers and the Guard member who called them to the scene. The suit accuses them of violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force. O’Hara is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, said he was looking for a humorous and creative way to protest what he views as a military “occupation.”

“It feels surreal and dystopian,” he told The Associated Press. “When I see armed troops at our farmers markets and outside of my favorite restaurants and my dog park, I don’t think, ‘Oh, wow, I feel safe.’ I think: ‘These feel like Stormtroopers. I feel like I’m living in a Star Wars episode or movie, and this is like an invading, dark force.'”

Spokespeople for Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office and the police department declined to comment on the suit’s claims. The MPD spokesperson said the four officers named as defendants all remain on full duty. A spokesperson for the Ohio National Guard didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

In August, Trump, a Republican, issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in Washington. Within a month, more than 2,300 National Guard troops from eight states and the district were patrolling the city under the command of the secretary of the Army. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist in patrols.

Trump’s law enforcement surge has inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued Trump to end it.

O’Hara’s lawsuit says he became “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods.”

“To many District residents, the deployment constituted an attack on D.C.’s autonomy and a dangerous departure from the Nation’s tradition of barring troops from policing civilians,” the suit says.

O’Hara had staged and recorded other “Star Wars”-themed protests against Guard deployments. The troops mostly ignored him, the suit says.

On Sept. 11, O’Hara was returning home from work when he began following four armed Guard members from Ohio. Less than two minutes later, one of the troops warned him that he would summon police officers to “handle” him if he kept following them, according to the suit.

The police officers who arrived minutes later accused O’Hara of harassing the troops, which he denied. They detained him without conducting any investigation and ignored his complaints that the handcuffs were too tight, the suit alleges.

“Mr. O’Hara brings this suit to ensure accountability, secure compensation for his injuries, and vindicate core constitutional guarantees,” the suit says.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.