Detroit Police Chief James Craig reacts to nationwide protests on ‘CAVUTO Live.’
The city of Detroit is trying a new tack during a year in which it, like many other U.S. cities, saw violent protests and destruction in the streets.
Detroit has filed a lawsuit against Black Lives Matter activists, alleging a civil conspiracy and claiming the protests in the city have repeatedly turned violent, endangering the lives of police and the public, according to reports.
The city claims the activists participated in the conspiracy, defamed the mayor and police, and contends that the city should be awarded damages, The Intercept reported.
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DETROIT The city of Detroit is fighting back against radicals after witnessing violence and destruction in their streets during a year of unrest, which has struck many U.S. cities.
Detroit has filed a lawsuit against Black Lives Matter activists, alleging a “civil conspiracy” and claiming the protests in the city “have repeatedly turned violent, endangering the lives of police and the public,” according to reports.
The city says activists participated in the conspiracy, “defamed” the mayor and police, and contends that the city should be awarded damages, The Intercept reported.
Moreover, the lawsuit cites four protests that occurred in the city this year that led to significant officer injuries, which included “cracked vertebrae, lacerations, and concussions,” according to the report.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The Black Lives Matter umbrella group Detroit Will Breathe sued Detroit, alleging police abuse of force during the George Floyd riots in the city this past summer. A judge granted a restraining order in September but the city responded with a countersuit, claiming that the Black Lives Matter group organized a “civil conspiracy” to riot, destroy property, and disturb the peace.
According to Detroit’s countersuit, the protesters “illegally, maliciously, and wrongfully conspired with one another with the intent to and for the illegal purpose of disturbing the peace, engaging in disorderly conduct, inciting riots, destroying public property, resisting or obstructing officers in charge of duty, and committing acts of violence against [the city] and [Detroit Police Department] officers.”
Civil rights groups lambasted the lawsuit as an assault on protesters’ First Amendment rights.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat whose district includes Detroit, called the lawsuit “an unthinkable assault on constitutional rights.”
Law enforcement groups latched on to the lawsuit, which they saw as the only way to hold violent demonstrators accountable for their behavior.
The National Police Association this week filed a legal brief in support of the police officers. Jim Bopp, an attorney for the NPA, said violent demonstrators were hiding behind the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to free speech and assembly.
“I’ve argued for 45 years for a very vigorous application of the First Amendment, but this is a perversion of the First Amendment, converting it into a shield for lawless and violent activity,” he told The Washington Times. “The First Amendment is being exploited by the left to protect their organized criminal activity.”
Detroit is countersuing Black Lives Matter protesters for civil conspiracy Print this article
The city of Detroit is suing Black Lives Matter protesters after a group of organizers sued the local government.
Detroit s suit alleges that demonstrators who participated in the racial justice protests this summer were a part of a civil conspiracy in which they attempted “to disturb the peace, engage in disorderly conduct, incite riots, destroy public property,” and resist police orders, among other “illegal acts. The suit was filed in September, about a month after activists filed their own suit, alleging Detroit police officers “repeatedly responded with violence,” according to the