The U.S. Supreme Court made a decision to permit the progression of a lawsuit brought against a Black Lives Matter activist by a Louisiana police officer who was injured in a 2016 altercatio
This ruling has sparked discussions about the potential impact on holding violent protesters accountable for causing harm to law enforcement officials.
“In declining to hear DeRay Mckesson’s appeal, the justices left in place a lower court’s decision reviving a lawsuit by the Baton Rouge police officer, John Ford, who accused him of negligence after being struck by a rock during a protest sparked by the fatal police shooting of a black man, Alton Sterling,” Reuters reported.
The ruling by the 5th Circuit Court to proceed with Ford’s lawsuit has the potential to lower the bar for holding protest leaders accountable for the actions of participants, a development that some legal experts believe could dampen activism aimed at driving political or societal transformations.