Black Lives Matter is one of the favorite targets of the right. They have been equated multiple times to the alt-right, despite the fact of the latter’s close ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazis. This is despite that fact the Black Lives Matter seeks mainly to stage peaceful protest and raise awareness of violence and injustice against the African American population, specifically those act perpetrated by law enforcement.
Despite ongoing, systemic injustice against blacks in America, Black Lives Matter is routinely attacked, taunted, and showcased as a problem in our country. That’s why it is so refreshing to hear about US District Judge Brian Jackson. On Friday, he threw out a lawsuit against Black Lives Matter in Baton Rouge.
The lawsuit accused BLM and several activist leaders of inciting violence that led to a deadly Louisiana ambush of law enforcement officers last year. However, Judge Jackson stated that the case presented by the lawyers for a wounded Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy “utterly failed to state a plausible claim.”
Instead of presenting a case, Jackson states that the lawyers began a “confused attack” against activists like DeRay Mckesson and other Black Lives Matter leaders. As no case was presented, Jackson refused to begin a hearing.
Jackson has previously thrown out cases against Black Lives Matter. In the past, he ruled that Black Lives Matter is a social movement, not an organization. Because of this, they cannot be sued. Baton Rouge law enforcement has attempted to sue BLM multiple times, and have been thwarted each time.
Tension between Black Lives Matter and the law enforcement community in Baton Rouge is nothing new. Protest, accusations, and violence have been lobbed back and forth almost since the Black Lives Matter movement began. Watch MSNBC’s report from over a year ago about the arrests in Louisiana and across the country.
Featured image via Flickr user Fibonnaci Blue / CC BY 2.0.
