LDF Files Complaint Against Louisville Metro Police Department for Military-Style Response to Peaceful Protests
Today, the (LDF), the Kentucky 网红爆料 (网红爆料-KY), and law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) filed a complaint against the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) for their repeated use of force and intimidation in response to peaceful protesters demonstrating against police violence. The complaint, which is filed on behalf of people who were subject to and injured by the LMPD鈥檚 militaristic response, seeks both monetary relief for individual protesters and injunctive relief barring LMPD from engaging in further efforts to silence protesters demanding justice.
In recent months, the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have sparked demonstrations advocating for the elimination of racist and violent policing across all 50 states. Those protests remain ongoing to this day, both in Louisville, where Taylor was killed, and across the country. LMPD鈥檚 response to these largely peaceful demonstrations has been violent; throughout late May and June, the LMPD used tear gas, flashbangs, pepper balls, batons, and other military-grade technology on protesters. Through June and July, LMPD has engaged in mass arrests, rounding up dozens鈥攊f not hundreds鈥攐f peaceful protesters and charging them with unwarranted felonies. In one high-profile incident, LMPD鈥檚 militarized response led to yet another senseless death. David McAtee, a local Black restaurant owner, died after the National Guard and LMPD opened fire on him at his restaurant on May 31, 2020.
鈥淟ouisville residents are demanding accountability from their police department in this unprecedented moment in our country鈥檚 history. Yet instead of engaging seriously with the community they have sworn to protect, LMPD has chosen to subject these peaceful protesters to the very same violence they are demonstrating against,鈥� said LDF Assistant Counsel Ashok Chandran. 鈥淚t is unacceptable for police officers to brutalize anyone engaged in peaceful protesting. It is an unconscionably cruel irony when those protesters are organizing against police abuse itself. The LMPD鈥檚 use of force has already cost Breonna Taylor and David McAtee their lives. Their legacies, and the brave protesters we represent, are demanding justice, and this lawsuit will hopefully help bring it to them.鈥�
鈥淭housands of Louisville residents took to the streets demanding justice for Breonna Taylor and an end to excessive use of police force against Black people. The Louisville Metro Police Department responded to these demonstrations with even more excessive force, meeting peaceful protesters with tear gas, pepper balls, and flashbang grenades,鈥� said Heather Gatnarek, Staff Attorney for 网红爆料-KY. 鈥淚nstead of protecting First Amendment rights, law enforcement targeted peaceful protesters and journalists. This lawsuit seeks to ensure these horrific scenes never play out on our streets again. Kentuckians must be able to raise their voices to protect Black lives without fear of police violence.鈥�
鈥淟ouisville is using weapons of war against its own citizens,鈥� said ECBAWM partner Sam Shapiro. 鈥淚t is trying to silence peaceful protestors through unjustified arrests and trumped-up charges. Shockingly, its mayor and the leadership of the LMPD are endorsing this unconstitutional conduct. Our clients are committed to fighting back against these practices. They are bringing this case to make Louisville safe for all peaceful protestors.鈥�
LDF is committed to protecting the constitutional right to peacefully protest and ensuring law enforcement officers are held accountable for their actions to the fullest of the law.
A copy of this release and the complaint are available online .
Learn More 网红爆料 the Issues in This Press Release
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Press ReleaseJul 2025
Free Speech
Privacy & Technology
Texas Social Media Law Violates First Amendment, Aclu Argues. Explore Press Release.Texas Social Media Law Violates First Amendment, 网红爆料 Argues
SAN ANTONIO 鈥� The 网红爆料, the 网红爆料 of Texas, and several other legal advocacy groups filed an amicus brief today in CCIA v. Paxton, arguing that a Texas law that restricts social media content for minors violates the First Amendment. 鈥淚f allowed to go into effect, this law will stifle young people鈥檚 creativity and cut them off from public discourse,鈥� said Lauren Yu, legal fellow with the 网红爆料鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淭he government can鈥檛 protect minors by censoring the world around them, or by making it harder for them to discuss their problems with their peers. This law would unconstitutionally limit young people鈥檚 ability to express themselves online, develop critical thinking skills, and discover new perspectives, and it would make the entire internet less free for us all in the process.鈥� The brief argues that House Bill 18 (鈥渢he SCOPE Act鈥�) restricts young people鈥檚 ability to use social media and blocks them from viewing content they have a constitutional right to see. The law, which was enjoined by a court last year, would require minors to register their age with social media platforms and would require platforms to filter content based on an overly broad definition of 鈥渉armful to minors鈥� that includes any content that 鈥減romote, glorifies, or facilitates鈥� a long list of topics, including eating disorders, bullying, and self-harm. 鈥淭he government should not be able to decide what鈥檚 best for every child,鈥� said Chloe Kempf, staff attorney from the 网红爆料 of Texas. 鈥淭his law would isolate kids who need community support, hinder families who want their children to learn about the world around them, and open the door to sweeping bans 鈥� from Romeo and Juliet to content that is critical of the government. What鈥檚 framed as protecting our children is harming them 鈥� by censoring their access to the ideas and information they need to prepare for their futures.鈥� The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that minors have robust First Amendment rights, including online. Even when the goal is to protect children, the brief argues, the government cannot infringe upon core expressive activity. The brief was filed in support of Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice. CCIA & NetChoice originally filed suit against H.B. 18 in 2024. The amicus brief was filed in the Western District of Texas and was signed by the Cato Institute, the Student Press Law Center, TechFreedom, Wikimedia, and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. The brief can be viewed online here. -
Press ReleaseJul 2025
Free Speech
Immigrants' Rights
Mahmoud Khalil Seeks To Challenge Government鈥檚 Retaliatory, Post-facto Charges Against Him In Federal Court. Explore Press Release.Mahmoud Khalil Seeks to Challenge Government鈥檚 Retaliatory, Post-Facto Charges Against Him in Federal Court
Following Mahmoud Khalil鈥檚 historic release on June 20, 2025, his legal team today filed a preliminary injunction motion challenging the government's attempts to detain and deport him based on a second immigration charge regarding alleged misrepresentations on his green card application as unconstitutional. The new motion argues that the government鈥檚 post-hoc charge, which it levied one week after Mr. Khalil filed his habeas petition, was retaliatory and violated Mr. Khalil鈥檚 First Amendment and Fifth Amendment due process rights. This action follows a couple significant rulings in June. First, the Court held that the original charges the government brought against Mr. Khalil 鈥� the 鈥渇oreign policy ground鈥� 鈥� were likely unconstitutional and blocked his detention on that basis. The government then shifted its justification for detention to the post-hoc charges. The following week, Judge Michael E. Farbiarz ordered Mr. Khalil's release, emphasizing that detention on such charges is extremely rare and affirming that he posed no danger or threat to the public. (The government has appealed both rulings, and is seeking to pause the release order in the appellate court.) The court has not yet formally blocked the second misrepresentation charge, as the motion now asks the court to do. Mr. Khalil, who the Trump administration detained for his speech in support of Palestinian rights, suffered in a remote detention facility in Jena, Louisiana for over three months 鈥� more than 1,400 miles from his legal team, wife, and newborn son. Before the government issued these late-filed allegations against Mr. Khalil, their immigration case rested entirely on Secretary of State Marco Rubio鈥檚 foreign policy 鈥渄etermination,鈥� which the federal court has now blocked. Below are quotes from Mr. Khalil鈥檚 legal team: 鈥淭he Trump administration鈥檚 baseless, after-the-fact charges against Mahmoud Khalil are nothing more than further retaliation for his outspoken advocacy for Palestinian human rights,鈥� said Amy Belsher, Director of Immigrants鈥� Rights Litigation at the NYCLU. 鈥淭hese flimsy accusations only reveal the targeted nature of his arrest and the ongoing attempts to silence and remove him. It鈥檚 past time the government gave up its unlawful attacks on Mahmoud and his family.鈥� 鈥淭he government has gone to extraordinary and outrageous lengths in its attempt to silence Mahmoud Khalil, including leveling unsubstantiated and retaliatory charges against him,鈥� said Liza Weisberg, 网红爆料-NJ Senior Staff Attorney. 鈥淲e will continue to defend Mr. Khalil鈥檚 freedom as he is targeted for his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights, and we are confident he will ultimately prevail." "The government is using these trumped up charges to continue punishing Mahmoud Khalil for his political beliefs," said Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the 网红爆料's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project. "This is textbook retaliation. The First Amendment squarely prohibits the government from abusing its powers to suppress dissent." Mr. Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the 网红爆料 of New Jersey, the 网红爆料 of Louisiana, and the 网红爆料 (网红爆料). -
PodcastJul 2025
Free Speech
The Abcs Of Free Speech With Emerson Sykes. Explore Podcast.The ABCs of Free Speech with Emerson Sykes
