A group of protesters has filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle, claiming the police department’s anti-riot tactics have forced demonstrators to buy prohibitively “expensive” protective gear in order to continue to enjoy their First Amendment rights.
KIRO-TV reported that the suit was filed Monday “on behalf of five protesters who attended the July 25 protest on Capitol Hill that police later declared a riot, seek[ing] an order from a judge to stop the city from using controversial tactics on protesters, including blast balls and pepper spray.”
“Because protestors now must purchase expensive equipment to be assured that they will be able to protest safely,” the filing claims, “the indiscriminate use of weapons by [the Seattle Police Department] implicates equal protection.”
It went to on say that “each of the Plaintiffs was unable to protest for a period of time for want of additional gear necessitated by SPD’s unmitigated and indiscriminate tactics utilized without restraint.” – READ MORE
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