DC to pay $1.6M for 2 lawsuits over excessive force during Trump inauguration protests

DC settling lawsuit of 2017 Trump inauguration protests

The District is settling two lawsuits in the wake of 2017 protests during former President Trump's inauguration.

WASHINGTON - The District will pay $1.6 million to settle to lawsuits over alleged excessive force and unlawful arrests by police during the 2017 protests following the inauguration of former President Donald Trump.

The ACLU of D.C. told FOX 5’s Evan Lambert that it brought one lawsuit, while the other was brought by civil rights attorney Jeffrey Light.

The lawsuits alleged that former D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham and more two dozen police officers violated the rights of protesters by conducting mass arrests without probable cause.

In addition, they said that police used excessive force, and were responsible for unlawful confinement of detainees.

One protester said she’d brought her 10-year-old son with her to the demonstration.

"Because of the wanton and brutal conduct of the D.C. police, we ended up fleeing through a cloud of pepper spray for doing nothing but chanting and holding signs. So the real lesson in how our Constitution works had to be this lawsuit, showing that there can be consequences when law enforcement abuses its power," said Gwen Frisbie-Fulton of North Carolina.

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The protests were characterized by some property damage and vandalism, the ACLU noted, but the police responded by rounding up more than 200 protesters en masse and then holding them without food, water, or access to a bathroom.

In addition, police used pepper spray, flash-bang grenades, concussion grenades and stingballs to suppress to crowds.

According to the ACLU, the police response was unwarranted.