A man who says he was detained by police for following an Ohio National Guard unit while playing Darth Vader’s theme from the movie “Star Wars” on his phone sued Washington on Oct. 23, claiming his constitutional rights were violated.
Sam O’Hara’s lawyers said in the lawsuit that the music known as “The Imperial March” serves as the soundtrack for his nonviolent protests against the deployment of National Guard troops in the capital.
O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, said he was looking for a humorous way to protest after becoming “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods.”
“And so, he began protesting the Guard members’ presence by walking several feet behind them when he saw them in the community,” the lawsuit states.
Videos of his exchanges with service members have drawn millions of views on TikTok, according to the complaint filed by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The lawyers said the 35-year-old did not obstruct the Ohio National Guard members when he followed them on a public sidewalk on Sept. 11 and played the song.
One of the guards alerted officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), who then detained and handcuffed O’Hara for about 15 to 20 minutes until they released him without charges, the lawsuit states.
“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the lawsuit states. “But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition on false arrest) bars groundless seizures.”
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.
“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.’”
The office of Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment on the lawsuit. An MPD spokesperson said the four officers are still on full duty. The Ohio National Guard did not return a request for comment by publication time.
“Mr. O’Hara brings this suit to ensure accountability, secure compensation for his injuries, and vindicate core constitutional guarantees,” the suit states.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly.
In August, Trump deployed National Guard troops to Washington to combat violent crime and secure public safety in the country’s capital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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