Peaceful protests violently broken up in D.C.

On June 5, 2020, Chasing News with Bill Spadea brought on Robert (Bob) Bianchi to comment on the recent lawsuit brought by the ACLU against President Trump. The lawsuit claims that the administration violated protestors’ constitutional rights by dispersing their peaceful assembly and by using unnecessary force.

The ACLU has filed the suit on behalf of Black Lives Matter of Washington D.C. as well as individual protestors who were present. As the lawsuit asserts, a peaceful assembly of protestors was gathered outside of St. John’s Episcopal Church, where the president took a photo opportunity that evening, before being forcefully dispersed by police.

This, the lawsuit says, was a violation of the protestors’ 1st and 4th amendment rights. There was no legal foundation for the disbursement of the protest or the use of force by police.

Bianchi commented on the lawsuit’s assertion of facts. If, as the suit claims, the timing of these events occurred prior to the 7pm curfew in place that night in D.C., then there are grounds for suit.

Though there could certainly be debate over whether curfews themselves violate the right to protest, the deciding factor on the validity of this lawsuit according to Bianchi, is establishing the timeline for when these events occurred.