Popehat: What’s wild about this opinion is it shows how this case — which cops and conservatives have been touting as a way to go after protestors — is based on utter horseshit. Like “we saw him pick up a water bottle and the court should infer he threw it at a cop later” horseshit.

What’s wild about this opinion is it shows how this case — which cops and conservatives have been touting as a way to go after protestors — is based on utter horseshit. Like “we saw him pick up a water bottle and the court should infer he threw it at a cop later” horseshit.

NEW: A Louisiana federal judge has found that civil-rights activist DeRay Mckesson is not legally responsible for injuries inflicted by someone else at a protest he was alleged to have organized OPINION: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... CASE FILE: clearinghouse.net/case/45222/

You think I am exaggerating that but I absolutely am not.

i lol'd at footnote number 1

That entire piece should not be a footnote. It should be in the body of the order, followed by “Plaintiff is ordered to show cause why they should not be sanctioned.”

Counsel for Plaintiff, too

Can the defendant file a motion for sanctions which simply says "see, generally, footnote 1 of previous order" or is it more complicated than that?

Oh jeez you never want the JUDGE to bring up rule 37.

So @kenwhite.bsky.social if you were on the business end of that footnote, would that be the sort of thing to make you want to change your name and move to another state?

I'm not a lawyer, but I think the only available recourse at that point is to walk into the sea...

yikes

Is rule 37 worse than rule 42?

"Included wasa ticket stub for a viewing of The Phantom Menace, which the plaintiff states was the midnight showing, but clearly gives a date three weeks after the release."

They really overestimate how much credulity they are afforded as cops vs plaintiffs

It really does show how much insane shit prosecutors and cops get away with that they thought they could bring a case based on 'we saw him pick up a water bottle'.

I do a lot of work with police officers in civil matters and you have no idea

My wife was a paralegal in family law for a long time, so I've heard the stories.

That's nothing compared to cop whistleblower cases

"Hydrating While Black".

I’m impressed that the cop didn’t pretend the water bottle was laced with fentanyl and claim a weapon of mass destruction was tossed at his face.

We had Portland cops try and claim a plastic water bottle was a Molotov.

One day a cop will tell the truth and we will all be so shocked we won’t know what to do.

Honestly, it makes me want to legalize throwing things at cops during protests

"Principal Skinner and a water bottle were in the closet and the water bottle looked at me."

Tired: Proof beyond a reasonable doubt Wired: I mean, it coulda happened that way, right?

Given how POd the judge sounds, is there any chance McKesson can retrieve attorney fees / damages?

Does this ruling wipe out the garbage precedents that got set along the way?

I did think you were exaggerating.

They must have strained a hamstring making that big a leap of logic

If only the protest had been in Amarillo

Holy fuck lmfao

The fact that they thought they had something in this case with speculative “evidence” at BEST shows what the GOP thinks they can get away with in court right now.

Wow, this is so much stupider than I expected. They said he organized the protest because he retweeted a tweet with the day and time!

Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild! Oh. Wait.

Except this is more like charging someone for *retweeting* that tweet, which is clearly ridiculous. *Originating* such a message could be seen as qualitatively different. (Not saying I’d agree, but some would.)

Honestly, this shit is word for word what happened in Russia in the 2010s. Same prosecution of "organizers", same shitty argumentation. The only differences are the absence of attempts to pin "the organizers" for the damages caused by the cops and for the cop's overtime, and the verdict.

Lucky for us, we now have precedent on whether RTs really do not equal endorsements.

Well, shoot. I guess I'm on the project 2025 revenge list for reposting this...

RTs ≠ Organizing

It’s absolutely insane even a Louisiana judge didn’t like this

"Soup for my family..." can finally be returned to the TikTok meme Hall of Fame rather than the law books.

It's almost like cops are used to being able to claim whatever they want without providing proof. A few more judges and juries should be a lot more skeptical about police testimony without additional evidence:

They should be sanctioned by the Bar and Judge for even bringing this utter whale shite argument. It is an embarrassment for all of us in the legal profession. If I was the Judge, I'd have aske the PA if they have any dignity or pride left after filing it.

If this is the direction they wanna go The can I use just all of Japan for every Toyota Tacoma that blasts through a crowd of protesters?

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