Washington, D.C
DC will pay $50,000 to man detained while protesting guard patrol with ‘Star Wars’ song, record says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a resident who accused police officers of illegally detaining him for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader’s theme song from “Star Wars” on his cellphone, according to a document released Monday.
The plaintiff, Sam O’Hara, sued the district, four Metropolitan Police Department officers and a guard member from Ohio over what he says was his act of protest against President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C.
A court filing on Thursday disclosed the settlement but didn’t specify any monetary terms. The amount is included in a copy of the settlement agreement that D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb’s office provided to The Associated Press.
The $50,000 settlement includes attorney’s fees and costs. O’Hara is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia. In an email on Friday, an ACLU spokesperson referred to the settlement’s financial terms as “a significant amount” that O’Hara “is pleased with” but said they weren’t disclosing the dollar figure to protect his privacy.
O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, agreed to drop his claims against the district and the MPD officers within three business days of receiving the settlement payment. The settlement isn’t an admission of wrongdoing by the district, the agreement says.
O’Hara’s settlement with the district doesn’t resolve his related claims against an Ohio National Guard member, Sgt. Devon Beck, who has asked a judge to dismiss O’Hara’s claims against him.
O’Hara sued the district in October, claiming police officers violated his First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures and excessive force.
O’Hara played “The Imperial March” theme from “Star Wars” on his phone as he followed several National Guard troops down a public street on Sept. 11, 2025. One of the troops summoned police officers, who stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to the lawsuit.
Trump’s ongoing deployment of guard members in Washington began last August after the Republican president issued an executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation’s capital. The surge inflamed tensions with residents of the heavily Democratic district. Hundreds of guard members remain deployed in the district nearly a year later, with no clear end in sight.
Washington — The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., said a woman has been arrested and faces two felony charges related to vandalism of the World War II Memorial in the capital.
Melissa Farris has been charged with depredation against property of the United States and destruction of veterans’ memorials, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on X. Pirro said Farris is in custody.
“Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom,” Pirro said.
The World War II Memorial is located on the National Mall, between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. On Thursday, fountains at the memorial were seen filled with soapy bubbles, and a wall was defaced with red paint, including graffiti reading “Clean Hands Dirty $.”
Pirro’s post on X included a photo of the woman she identified as Farris appearing to spray-paint the walls of the memorial:
Court filings detailing the charges against Farris were not immediately available.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior said in a statement Thursday that U.S. Park Police were investigating the incident. In a Truth Social post Friday morning, President Trump said there was “NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II.”
The Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a nonprofit organization that works to preserve the site, said in a statement that “a national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny and security on the National Mall over recent renovations and restoration projects.
In July, four people, including former Olympian David Hearn, were indicted or charged by Pirro’s office with allegedly damaging the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. But the charges were ultimately dropped after federal prosecutors said that the damage was caused by a “botched” construction job by a contractor, and not vandalism.
Last week, CBS News reported that White House officials asked the Justice Department to weigh bringing the charges against Hearn again, after Mr. Trump continued to claim without evidence that there “may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
No final decision has been made, sources told CBS News.
Another case of vandalism involved the lawn near the Washington Monument in June, when discoloration in the grass began to emerge, spelling out “86 47” in huge letters. No one has been charged in relation to the markings.
The term is at the center of the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, who posted an image of seashells arranged as “86 47” to Instagram. Prosecutors say the post amounted to a threat against the president. Comey deleted the post and said he did not know the numbers could connote violence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was vandalized Thursday, with bubbles…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was vandalized Thursday, with bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint.
The Interior Department released a statement late Thursday saying: “Our U.S. Park Police are on the scene and the investigation is ongoing. The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act.”
The Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain the site, said: “There are many places in our country for expression, debate, and disagreement. A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars called the vandalism “an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed and to the families who carried that burden at home.”
The World War II Memorial is just east of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the Mall. After a botched repair job earlier this year left the pool with peeling blue sealant and green algae, President Donald Trump blamed the issues on vandalism without providing evidence.
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WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 11: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answers questions during a press briefing at the White House on December 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Leavitt answered questions about the recent U.S. military action to seize a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela amid a U.S. military buildup in the region. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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