New claims added in suit against Trump over Lafayette Square attack
WASHINGTON - Three D.C. educators have amended their complaint in a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump over the violent clearing of Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020.
Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich cleared the way for Radiya Buchanan, Ann Dagrin, and Lindsay Field to sue Trump in his personal capacity for the damages they say they suffered while protesting peacefully over the death of George Floyd.
The women also sued the federal government alongside members of the Metropolitan Police Department and Arlington County Police Department. They claim law enforcement released chemical irritants and fired rubber bullets into the crowd. The "unprovoked violence" occurred shortly before Trump posed for photos across the street at St. John's Episcopal Church.
The revised suit adds claims under D.C. law including Assault and Battery and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.
Trump will have the opportunity to move to dismiss the lawsuit. In a June 2021 order, Friedrich ruled that the case will move forward against the police officers. She reasoned that the officers do not enjoy qualified immunity because "any reasonable officer would have been aware that it is a violation of foundational First Amendment rights to forcibly end a peaceful protest in a traditional public forum without any legitimate justification for doing so."
D.C.'s Attorney General Brian Schwalb represents MPD officers in the case. His office declined to comment.
