Background

On April 20, 2002, mass (false) arrests occurred as a day of lawful mass demonstration against U.S. war in the Middle East was winding down in Washington, D.C.

This ground-breaking constitutional rights lawsuit charges that local and federal law enforcement violated the U.S. Constitution by singling out people for arrest based on their perceived political ideology targeting persons the government perceived by their manner of dress to be, or to associate with, Anarchists. As in decades past, the government has again targeted those who it has categorized as political opponents as part of the Anarchist movement, in this particular instance falsely arresting a group eating Stir-fry food - most of whom were wearing black and carrying political literature - as a day of lawful mass demonstration against U.S. war in the Middle East was winding down. Federal agents were on site to use the false arrests for intelligence gathering, video interviewing selected activists, and reviewing and taking images of their political literature and materials.

The Partnership for Civil Justice successfully secured the expungement of the arrest records for those arrested, and now seeks to hold the government accountable in this constitutional rights civil litigation.