Israel-Hamas War Protesters Sue Police Over Confrontation in Washington
WASHINGTON — As one set of Israel-Hamas war protesters pushed against police lines in Chicago this week, another group is suing over a confrontation last fall outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The nine people who filed their lawsuit last week said Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers used excessive force against them.
They said they were choked, dragged and sprayed with chemical irritants while they were peacefully protesting on Nov. 15, 2023.
They alleged violations of their rights to First Amendment free speech and Fourth Amendment privacy protections against unreasonable seizures.
Chicago police at the Democratic National Convention dealt with dozens of protesters pushing their way over a security fence Monday near the United Center as President Joe Biden prepared to address his fellow Democrats.
They were among thousands of demonstrators outside in the streets expressing either opposition to the war in Gaza and/or American support for Israelis. Some chanted “end the occupation now.”
Police handcuffed several protesters who broke through the security fence on Monday. Police said other protesters threw water bottles at them.
Chicago’s police superintendent said officers were prepared to stop any violence directed at them or the conventioneers. Thirteen people were arrested in the first two days of the convention.
In Washington, police said after the arrests at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that protesters had ignored orders to move back during a meeting of elected officials inside the building.
About 100 protesters were demonstrating in favor of Palestinian rights and against Israeli actions that have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths. They wore black shirts that read “cease fire now.”
They linked arms with their backs to the DNC headquarters. They said they planned to discuss their grievances with political leaders entering or leaving the building.
Police said protesters slightly injured a half-dozen officers. The protesters said the police attacked them.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia also alleges violations of First Amendment rights of assembly and of a local ordinance that requires police to give at least one clear order to disperse and a means of compliance before beginning arrests.
The plaintiffs represent a cross-section of professions, such as an artist, a psychotherapist, a legal assistant and a graduate student.
The lawsuit says police engaged in “kettling,” in which they surrounded protesters with no way of escaping.
Protesters were “shoved, dragged, thrown, and body slammed” while “treating their bodies as disposable,” the lawsuit says. One woman said an officer groped her breasts.
They claim compensation for emotional and physical injuries. They also want punitive damages imposed on police.
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