DC settles with left-wing protester who tailed National Guard while playing Darth Vader theme song

Washington D.C. Settles Lawsuit with Protester Who Played Star Wars Theme While Following National Guard

December 2025

Washington D.C. has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a protester who was detained after playing Darth Vader's theme song on his phone while shadowing Ohio National Guard troops in the nation's capital last year.

Sam O'Hara, a hospitality industry worker and artist, was walking behind several National Guard members on September 11, 2025, in Washington D.C., playing "The Imperial March" from Star Wars on his cellphone. The protest, described in court filings as satire, was directed at President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops throughout D.C. neighborhoods following his declaration of a crime emergency in the capital.

According to the lawsuit, one of the National Guard members called police, who stopped O'Hara and kept him handcuffed tightly for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without any charges being filed.

O'Hara subsequently sued Washington D.C., four Metropolitan Police Department officers, and an Ohio National Guard member in October 2025. His legal complaint alleged violations of his First and Fourth Amendment rights, accusing the defendants of unlawfully restricting his free speech and conducting an illegal seizure while employing excessive force. The lawsuit sought compensatory and punitive damages for claims including false imprisonment, battery, and constitutional retaliation.

O'Hara expressed satisfaction with the settlement amount but voiced frustration that taxpayers would bear the cost rather than those he believes violated his rights.

"Those who actually violated my constitutional rights should be the ones paying the price, like taking the money from their pensions," O'Hara said in a statement. "That's what real accountability looks like."

The settlement was filed in court on Thursday.

Trump's deployment of National Guard members to the capital began in August 2025 following his declaration of a crime emergency. The increased federal presence sparked significant backlash among many residents in the heavily Democratic district, who characterized the deployment as an overreach of federal authority into local affairs.