Challenging Police Brutality at a Protest Outside the DNC Building in D.C.
Rise et al. v. Bagshaw et al.
In 2024, Civil Rights Corps filed a landmark lawsuit challenging alleged police brutality in Washington, DC, against the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the United States Capitol Police (USCP). Plaintiffs in this case are among the majority of Democratic Party voters who believe the United States should broker a ceasefire in Gaza. That’s the message they gathered to share with their elected representatives at the DNC building on November 15, 2023. Plaintiffs assert that when the police arrived, the protestors were simply singing, chanting, and projecting messages regarding the sanctity of human life. Our suit alleges that MPD and USCP officers immediately responded with unprovoked violence.
As alleged in the complaint, MPD and USCP’s brutal response to the protest was aimed to suppress Plaintiffs’ speech in support of Palestinian life. The lawsuit alleges that the officers specifically and unambiguously targeted Plaintiffs’ because of the content of their message. The lawsuit alleges that the violence that MPD and USCP inflicted on people speaking in support of Palestinian lives mirrors the long history of violence that police inflict on people speaking in support of other marginalized people’s lives, including Black lives. Both MPD and USCP have trained with the Israeli Occupation Forces in Israel. The lawsuit alleges that, relying on similar tactics that the Israeli military uses to stifle dissent, MPD and USCP engaged in extreme levels of violence to silence Plaintiffs’ political speech.
With this action, CRC aims to draw attention to state violence here and abroad and to vindicate the civil rights of all people who are brave enough to speak truth to power.
Media Coverage:
D.C. sued for police use of force during Gaza protests outside DNC HQ | Washington Post | Aug 20, 2024
Filings:
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