Amended Complaint Also Adds a New Plaintiff and Seeks Class Status to Represent Hundreds of Individual Demonstrators
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2020
Contact:
Gregg Kelley, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, [email protected], (202) 319-1070
WASHINGTON — After news reports revealed that Federal Bureau of Prisons officers were among the law enforcement agencies who brutally attacked civil rights protestors in Lafayette Square on the evening of June 1, plaintiffs have added the agency’s director, Michael Carvajal, along with an unspecified number of its officers, as defendants in the lawsuit against President Trump, Attorney General William Barr, and other senior White House officials for violating the constitutional rights of protesters.
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the ACLU of the District of Columbia, and the law firm of Arnold & Porter also added Lia Poteet, age 28, as a plaintiff in the case.
Poteet was viciously attacked by one of the federal officers. As she stood near the front line facing the line of law enforcement, she heard explosions and people screaming, and was knocked down as officers charged the protesters. She was struck repeatedly with a baton and sustained blows to her stomach and her knee. When she tried to stand up, the same officer resumed hitting her, harder. As another protester helped her up again, two flash-bang grenades exploded at her feet, causing her to gasp and cough.
“I went to Lafayette Square to protest the death of George Floyd and to raise my voice against violence and racist oppression, but the Trump administration ordered the military to attack us for it,” said Lia Poteet, who joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff today. “Federal troops charged at peaceful protesters, directed their force at American citizens exercising their constitutional right, and turned a public park into a combat zone.”
Today’s amended complaint also seeks class status to represent the hundreds of individuals who were affected by the administration’s unlawful use of force against protestors.
“This lawsuit is about more than the injuries to our members and to our fellow plaintiffs,” said April Goggans, core organizer of Black Lives Matter-DC, the lead plaintiff in the case. “It is about the wanton violence inflicted on hundreds of people who gathered at the White House to deliver the urgent message that Black Lives Matter. And it is about the generations of Black people and their allies who have been attacked by government authorities for trying to deliver that message.”
The amended complaint can be found here.
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Additional press contacts:
Suzanne Ito, ACLU of the District of Columbia, [email protected], 202-601-4273
Don Owens, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, [email protected], 202-934-1880
Issara Baumann, Arnold & Porter, [email protected], 202-942-6682
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ABOUT THE WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE: Founded in 1968, The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs works to create legal, economic and social equity through litigation, client and public education and public policy advocacy. While we fight discrimination against all people, we recognize the central role that current and historic race discrimination plays in sustaining inequity and recognize the critical importance of identifying, exposing, combatting and dismantling the systems that sustain racial oppression. For more information, please visit www.washlaw.org or call 202.319.1000. Follow us on Twitter at @WashLaw4CR.
ABOUT THE ACLU OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: With more than 14,000 local members, the ACLU of the District of Columbia fights to protect and expand civil liberties and civil rights for people who live, work, and visit D.C., and in matters involving federal employees and agencies. ACLU-DC pursues its mission through legal action, legislative advocacy, and public education.
ABOUT LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.
ABOUT ARNOLD & PORTER: With nearly 1,000 lawyers practicing in 14 offices around the globe, Arnold & Porter serves clients across 40 distinct practice areas. The firm offers 100 years of renowned regulatory expertise, sophisticated litigation and transactional practices, and leading multidisciplinary offerings in the life sciences and financial services industries.