A federal judge in Louisiana dismissed the lawsuit brought against Black Lives Matter on Thursday, ruling that because BLM is a social movement and a hashtag, it canât be sued.
The lawsuit was initiated by an anonymous police officer in late 2016 after he was injured during a protest in Baton Rouge last year, according to the Baltimore Sun. The officer sued both BLM and a well-known activist, DeRay Mckesson.
NPR reports the officer alleged he was injured during the protest turned âriotâ after an unknown protestor threw a piece of concrete or a ârock-likeâ object that ended up hitting him. The officer lost teeth and suffered injuries to his jaw, brain and head as a result. The protest was over a deadly police shooting in Baton Rouge last year that resulted in the death of Alton Sterling.
The officerâs lawsuit argued that BLM, as a ânational unincorporated association,â could be sued. Mckesson was deemed BLMâs âleader and founderâ and âin charge of the protestsâ and was also alleged to be guilty of the officerâs injuries. The officer added two more parties to the lawsuit this summer, including Black Lives Matter Network, Inc., another group associated with the BLM movement, and the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, according to the New York Times. But Chief Judge Brian Jackson of the Baton Rouge District Court came to a different conclusion after reviewing the case. Â
ââBlack Lives Matter,â as a social movement, cannot be sued, however, in a similar way that a person cannot plausibly sue other social movements such as the Civil Rights movement, the L.G.B.T. rights movement, or the Tea Party movement,â Judge Jackson said in his ruling.
He did, however, recognize that individuals or groups associated with the movement can be sued and potentially found guilty. As for the hashtag being included in the lawsuit, Judge Jackson was not impressed.
âFor reasons that should be obvious, a hashtag â which is an expression that categorizes or classifies a personâs thought, is not a âjuridical personâ and therefore lack the capacity to be sued,â Judge Jackson said.
He also criticized the officerâs decision to include the BLM movement and hashtag in his lawsuit.
âPlaintiffâs attempt to bring suit against a social movement and a hashtag evidences either a gross lack of understanding of the concept of capacity or bad faith,â Judge Jackson said.
Mckesson was also cleared of charges following the judgeâs conclusion that Mckesson âsolely engaged in protected speechâ at the protest.
âItâs clear that I did nothing wrong that day and that the police were the only violent people in the streets,â Mckesson said after the ruling. âThe movement began as a call to end violence, and that call remains the same today.â