Man challenges arrest for mocking DC troops with Darth Vader's theme 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.

The ACLU appeared to even have a little fun with the suit, writing that “government conduct of this sort might have received legal sanction a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from restraining individuals from recording law enforcement or peacefully protesting, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition on false arrest) bars groundless seizures."

The suit goes line by line through the individuals involved in the arrest and their roles in the matter. They are included in the lawsuit in their official and individual capacities.

"By handcuffing and detaining Mr. O’Hara, Officers Campbell, Brown, Reyes-Benigno, and Lopez Martinez prevented him from recording or protesting Sgt. Beck and the other Guard members," the lawsuit continues. "As a result of the incident, O'Hara has suffered "significant anxiety around law enforcement and feels less safe in his neighborhood."

O'Hara has had two previous surgeries on his shoulder since 2023, so when the officers roughly yanked back his arms, it further "irritated his left shoulder labrum."

“I think the men and women who signed up to serve their country did not have this in mind, that they would be policing their fellow citizens,” O’Hara said, according to the Washington Post. “My protest is to make sure that everyone knows that this is coming from the top. These orders are coming from an administration that seeks to use fear and tactics to make sure their power extends to branches of government where it doesn’t belong.”

The Post went on to cite senior staff attorney for the ACLU of D.C. Michael Perloff, who said in a statement that the government doesn’t get to decide if your protest is funny, and the government officials can’t punish you for making them the punch line. That’s really the whole point of the First Amendment."

O'Hara went on to say, “I would not be able to sleep at night knowing that I did not stand up for myself and stand up for my First Amendment rights.”

Read the full filing here.