DC Pays $50,000 to a Man Police Cuffed for Playing Darth Vader's Theme at Troops.

The District of Columbia agreed to pay $50,000 to Sam O’Hara, a man police handcuffed after he protested Trump’s federal law enforcement surge by playing Darth Vader’s theme song behind National Guard troops. The settlement resolves his claims against four Metropolitan Police Department officers, PBS NewsHour reported. His case against the Ohio National Guard sergeant who called the police on him continues.

The Protest

O’Hara, an artist who works in the hospitality industry, was troubled by the sight of troops patrolling his city’s neighborhoods. So he started following them with a soundtrack.

When he saw Guard members on the street, he walked several feet behind them playing “The Imperial March,” the music that signals Darth Vader’s arrival in Star Wars, from his phone or a small speaker. He kept it audible but not blaring, recorded the encounters, and posted them to TikTok, where they drew millions of views.

The Detention

On September 11, 2025, O’Hara was trailing an Ohio National Guard patrol on a public street. The lawsuit says he did not interfere with the troops.

One of the Guard members, Sgt. Devon Beck, summoned the Metropolitan Police. Officers stopped O’Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without any charges. He sued, alleging the officers violated his First Amendment right to protest and his Fourth Amendment protection against an unreasonable seizure.

The Settlement

The district agreed to pay the $50,000 to settle the claims against its officers, covering damages plus attorney fees, with no admission of wrongdoing. The ACLU of D.C., which represented O’Hara, called it a significant amount.

O’Hara said the money is not the kind of accountability he wants.

“Those who actually violated my constitutional rights should be the ones paying the price, like taking the money from their pensions. That’s what real accountability looks like.”

Sam O’Hara

His claims against Sgt. Beck, who asked the court to dismiss the case, are still alive. The settlement covers the city, not the Guard member who flagged him down.

The Surge Behind It

The patrols O’Hara was protesting are part of a larger deployment. In August 2025, Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington by executive order and sent the National Guard into the city, putting uniformed troops on neighborhood streets in the heavily Democratic district.

Soldiers are trained to fight enemies abroad, not to patrol American neighborhoods. The Posse Comitatus Act has barred the military from civilian law enforcement since 1878, and the spread of troops into U.S. cities is the practice O’Hara set to music.

Why It Matters

Playing a song behind a patrol is exactly the kind of speech the First Amendment protects, even when it irritates the people it targets. O’Hara was not charged with anything, because there was nothing to charge. He was handcuffed for mocking the government in public, and the city paid for it.

The deeper problem is the one O’Hara named. When officers violate someone’s rights, the bill goes to taxpayers, not to the officers. The settlement vindicates his protest, but the troops are still on the streets, and the right to record and protest them is only as strong as people are willing to use it.

What You Can Do Now

Use the letter below to ask your members of Congress to keep the military out of civilian policing and to put real limits on deploying troops into American cities.
Know your rights if you protest. You have the right to record police and troops in public and to demonstrate peacefully. Read the protest rights guide before you go.
Call your senators and representative at (202) 224-3121. Tell them you do not want uniformed troops patrolling American neighborhoods, and you want officers who violate constitutional rights held personally accountable, not bailed out by taxpayers.