A federal appeals court judge is warning that her colleague’s decision to revive a lawsuit against a Black Lives Matter activist poses a threat to First Amendment rights.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge appeals panel in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a police officer’s lawsuit against DeRay Mckesson deserves a jury trial. Mckesson, who organized a protest at which the officer was injured, has been accused of negligence. The dissenting judge warned the decision “imperils First Amendmeant liberties,” while Mckesson called the lawsuit “ludicrous.”
The case revolves around a 2016 protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following the death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man shot by police outside a convenience store. Mckesson joined hundreds of others at the protest, where officer John Ford was injured by a “rock-like” object thrown by an unknown individual. The lawsuit does not suggest Mckesson hurled the object or even
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