{"id":2781,"date":"2026-06-30T09:33:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2026-06-30T09:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:33:43","slug":"dc-will-pay-50000-to-man-detained-while-protesting-guard-patrol-with-star-wars-song-record-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2781","title":{"rendered":"DC will pay $50,000 to man detained while protesting guard patrol with \u2018Star Wars\u2019 song, record says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a resident who accused police officers of illegally detaining him for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader\u2019s theme song from \u201cStar Wars\u201d on his cellphone, according to a document released Monday.<\/p>\n

Read more Pinal County to replace over 1,400 ballots due to printing error<\/a><\/p>\n

The plaintiff, Sam O\u2019Hara, sued the district, four Metropolitan Police Department officers and a guard member from Ohio over what he says was his act of protest against President Donald Trump\u2019s federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

A court filing on Thursday disclosed the settlement but didn\u2019t specify any monetary terms. The amount is included in a copy of the settlement agreement that D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb\u2019s office provided to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The $50,000 settlement includes attorney\u2019s fees and costs. O\u2019Hara is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia. In an email on Friday, an ACLU spokesperson referred to the settlement\u2019s financial terms as \u201ca significant amount\u201d that O\u2019Hara \u201cis pleased with\u201d but said they weren\u2019t disclosing the dollar figure to protect his privacy.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, agreed to drop his claims against the district and the MPD officers within three business days of receiving the settlement payment. The settlement isn\u2019t an admission of wrongdoing by the district, the agreement says.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara\u2019s settlement with the district doesn\u2019t resolve his related claims against an Ohio National Guard member, Sgt. Devon Beck, who has asked a judge to dismiss O\u2019Hara\u2019s claims against him.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court rules states can count late-arriving mailed ballots, rejecting Trump-led challenge<\/a><\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara said in a statement that he is satisfied with the settlement but conflicted that taxpayers are footing the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who actually violated my constitutional rights should be the ones paying the price, like taking the money from their pensions. That\u2019s what real accountability looks like,\u201d he said. \u201cThis settlement is a reminder that our freedoms are worth fighting for, especially when the powerful would rather we suffer in silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara sued the district in October, claiming police officers violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Hara played \u201cThe Imperial March\u201d theme from \u201cStar Wars\u201d on his phone as he followed several National Guard troops down a public street on Sept. 11, 2025. One of the troops summoned police officers, who stopped O\u2019Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s ongoing deployment of guard members in Washington began last August after the Republican president issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation\u2019s capital. The surge inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. Hundreds of guard members remain deployed in the district nearly a year later, with no clear end in sight.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court rejects Trump\u2019s push to toss $5 million verdict in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a resident who accused police officers of illegally detaining him for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing \u201cThe Imperial March.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDC will pay $50,000 to man detained while protesting guard patrol with \u2018Star Wars\u2019 song, record says - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2781\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DC will pay $50,000 to man detained while protesting guard patrol with \u2018Star Wars\u2019 song, record says - 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