Should he have played the Cantina Song?
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is representing Sam O'Hara, who was arrested in Washington, D.C., when he began playing the "Imperial March" from "Star Wars" at National Guard soldiers marching through the streets. Now he's fighting back.
A new lawsuit filed on Thursday details the story of O'Hara's encounter on Sept. 11, playing the song while doing nothing more than walking behind the Guard, noted Slate legal reporter Mark Joseph Stern.
"Mr. O’Hara saw Sgt. Beck, along with several other Guard members, walking in uniform in the Logan Circle neighborhood, near the intersection of 14th and R Streets NW. Mr. O’Hara calmly walked behind the Guard members, began playing The Imperial March aloud on his phone, and started recording. In less than two minutes, Sgt. Beck turned around and threatened to call D.C. police officers to 'handle' Mr. O’Hara if he persisted. Mr. O’Hara continued recording and playing the music," the lawsuit alleges.
“That’s what you want to do? Okay," Sgt. Beck then asserted, according to the allegations.
"Sgt. Beck contacted the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Defendant MPD Officers Brown, Campbell, Reyes-Benigno, and Lopez Martinez came to the scene and, in essence, did what Sgt. Beck had threatened, putting Mr. O’Hara in handcuffs and preventing him from continuing his peaceful protest," the suit continues.