Detroit alleges a civil conspiracy “to disturb the peace, engage in disorderly conduct, incite riots, destroy public property … ”
. . . "Detroit’s demonstrators are part of a “civil conspiracy,” the city’s countersuit alleges, “to disturb the peace, engage in disorderly conduct, incite riots, destroy public property,” and resist police orders, among other “illegal acts.” The countercomplaint asks the court to issue judgments declaring that the protesters engaged in this conspiracy and “defamed” the mayor and police, and to award the city damages.
"The counter-lawsuit, according to Gilardi, has sparked political objection from, among other, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib:
The countersuit against Black Lives Matter protesters is a novel move in the post-George Floyd moment, and it has lit a fire under already boiling local tensions. The city has tried to portray it as a routine legal tactic, but many see the counterattack as an effort to suppress the right to protest and to shift the public narrative away from the police department’s violence. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., whose congressional district includes much of Detroit, has lambasted it as “an unthinkable assault on constitutional rights.”
The protesters are fighting back on two separate tracks: one in court, with the backing of national legal groups, and another in the city council, which has the power to cut off funding for the city’s litigation. One council member has already vocalized her opposition to the countersuit, and the activists are working to lobby others ahead of a vote early next year.
"It’s hard to predict where the suit will lead, but it may give Detroit the opportunity to present evidence as to coordination of violence, and to address the media narrative that the police were to blame for the “mostly peaceful” protests turning violent.
No comments:
Post a Comment