Sam O’Hara was playing “Imperial March,” the theme of the film series villains, while protesting the presence of National Guard troops in the capital when he was handcuffed by city police officers.

  • NekoKoneko@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    The chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington filed a notice in federal court saying that city officials had agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to the plaintiff, Sam O’Hara, in exchange for being released from the lawsuit. Scott Michelman, the legal director of the A.C.L.U. chapter, said that the settlement “was a significant amount Mr. O’Hara is pleased with but that we are not disclosing to respect Mr. O’Hara’s privacy.”

    I wish they hadn’t settled, since unfortunately an unconstitutional arrest to generate a speech-chilling headline, followed by buying-off a settlement, is just a take-rights-now-pay-layer strategy that still leads to fascism.

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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      21 days ago

      The good news is that that kind of system of buying people off works great for the short term … but eventually the imaginary money that everyone pretended was there eventually disappears and everyone gets angry because they can’t be bought off any more, so they enact violent change in order to get their money back.

      • Zedstrian@sopuli.xyz
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        21 days ago

        The problem with even the slightest notion of violence is that then they have a convenient way to vilify their opponents; just look at the outcome of the Prarieland shooting trial.

        • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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          21 days ago

          I agree, the outcome is true if those in opposition or wanting to fight fascism attempt any kind of violence … but when the money dries up, which it eventually will, it’s the age old story of the snake eating its own tail … when money, power and wealth start evaporating, violence will come from anywhere and everywhere as everyone tries to hang on to whatever is left.

        • unmagical@lemmy.ml
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          21 days ago

          They don’t need any justification. They can and do just enact violence first.