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

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https://www.rawstory.com/washington-dc-aclu-protest-lawsuit/

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

Sarah K. Burris
October 23, 2025 11:48AM ET

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.

"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."

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