Claire Taylor

The (Lafayette, La.) Daily Advertiser

LAFAYETTE, La. — The ACLU of Louisiana and local organizations filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing the Baton Rouge Police Department of violating the First Amendment rights of demonstrators arrested last weekend.

More than 200 people have been arrested in the past week at protests following the death of Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot to death July 5 by two white policemen in Baton Rouge. Part of the struggle between police and Sterling was captured on video that was spread via social media, setting off protests nationwide.

The lawsuit claims police used excessive force, physically and verbally abused protesters, and made wrongful arrests to disperse demonstrators.

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A temporary restraining order also was filed to prevent police "from interfering with people's constitutionally protected right to gather peacefully moving forward," the ACLU said in a news release.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the ACLU, the Black Youth Project and the Louisiana chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which had legal observers on hand during Sunday's protests on Sunday. At least two of the legal observers were arrested.

Police in riot gear, wearing gas masks and carrying assault rifles, along with armored vehicles, were used to disperse a crowd participating in an unsanctioned protest in a Baton Rouge neighborhood where police diverted them as they marched toward Interstate 110.

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