ACLU Sues D.C. Over Star Wars Protest Arrest

Sam O’Hara, a 35-year-old Washington resident, sued the District of Columbia, four MPD officers and an Ohio National Guard sergeant after being handcuffed for about 15–20 minutes while following a National Guard patrol in D.C. and playing “The Imperial March” from Star Wars as a satirical protest of President Trump’s Guard deployment. The federal complaint, filed by ACLU attorneys, alleges violations of his First and Fourth Amendment rights and common-law claims including false arrest, false imprisonment and battery, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as declaratory relief. O’Hara says he kept the music audible but not blaring, recorded the encounters (which drew millions of views on TikTok) and did not interfere with troops; the suit says an Ohio guardsman summoned MPD, who detained him and released him without charges. The ACLU argues the government cannot shut down peaceful protest, quipping that “the law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” and O’Hara called the episode “surreal and dystopian.” MPD told Axios the guardsman flagged down officers and that O’Hara was ultimately sent on his way, and the authorities named in the suit have not yet filed court responses.