Overview
- Filed in federal court, the lawsuit names multiple Metropolitan Police Department officers and an Ohio National Guard member and alleges violations of Sam O’Hara’s First and Fourth Amendment rights.
- According to the complaint, on Sept. 11 an Ohio Guardsman threatened to call police as O’Hara played the Star Wars theme and filmed patrols, and officers then handcuffed him for roughly 15–20 minutes without charges.
- The filing says officers told O’Hara he was not under arrest and that he was being stopped for “harassing the National Guard,” which his attorneys argue was protected expressive conduct.
- The suit includes claims of false arrest/imprisonment and battery, and it seeks damages for what the ACLU describes as a groundless seizure.
- O’Hara documented the encounters on TikTok, drawing more than a million views, as thousands of Guard members remained deployed in D.C. following a summer crime intervention; MPD and the Ohio National Guard declined comment in coverage.