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Are Protest Organizers Responsible For Anything That Happens at a Protest? Louisiana Just Said Yes.
There’s lots of gnashing of teeth and beating of breasts these days over various threats to free speech. So it’s a little perplexing that a recent decision by the Louisiana State Supreme Court that represents a remarkably blatant infringement on the 1st Amendment rights of demonstrators has gotten little notice.
In its decision, which was handed down last week, the court ruled that a lawsuit filed by a Baton Rouge police officer against Black Lives Matter organizer and activist DeRay McKesson could proceed. The officer who filed the suit claims he was seriously injured during the demonstrations that followed the killing of Alton Sterling by police officers in 2016. According to the suit, he was hit in the face with something (a rock, or concrete, or perhaps a water bottle) thrown by a demonstrator, and lost some teeth and suffered injuries to his jaw and brain.
Now, the person who threw the rock was never identified (and therefore never arrested). So the police officer sued McKesson instead. (He also initially tried to sue Black Lives Matter, but that attempt was denied.) It’s worth noting how conceptually odd this was. There’s no allegation that McKesson, or any other organizer, told anyone to throw anything, or did anything to encourage violence…
