Maybe he should have gone with some tunes from the Mos Eisley Cantina instead?
Sam O’Hara’s choice to play the Imperial March from the Star Wars movies while following Ohio National Guard troops stationed in his home city of Washington, D.C., ended with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) handcuffing and detaining him. Claiming violations of civil liberties protected by the First and Fourth Amendments, O’Hara filed a federal lawsuit on October 23, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
O’Hara, who uploaded videos to TikTok of himself walking behind National Guard troops while playing the music created by composer John Williams used to announce the arrival of villain Darth Vader in some of the Star Wars movies, alleges he was engaging in a peaceful protest and did not assault or hinder in any manner. However, the leader of a group of Ohio National Guard members took exception to O’Hara’s accompanying music and threatened to have O’Hara arrested if he didn’t stop. When O’Hara persisted, the MPD was called in and responded by handcuffing the D.C. resident.
While President Donald Trump’s use of National Guard deployments in primarily Democrat-run cities is being battled over in courtrooms, citizens have employed offbeat tactics and extensive social media use to voice their disagreement with federal troops taking on the role of law enforcement. In O’Hara’s case, he felt compelled to let National Guard troops know he felt they belonged in a galaxy far, far away.
Doo-Doo-Dooo-Doo-De-Do or Do Not, There Is No Try
Amid an alleged “siege of violent crime,” on August 11, 2025, the White House requested that eight states supply National Guard troops to be sent to the District of Columbia to “perform law enforcement support.” Lacking the authority to police citizens, the deployed troops were required to call in MPD officers to facilitate arrests.
Objecting to President Trump’s use of federal troops in this manner, D.C. residents employed various protest methods, including the throwing of a sandwich. Between August 29 and September 11, O’Hara’s form of peaceful protest involved following National Guard troops on patrol and playing Darth Vader’s theme music from either his phone or a small speaker while recording the encounter. Emblematic of the arrival of the Empire’s chief villain, the Imperial March has long been identified with authoritarianism.
In his lawsuit, O’Hara claims he had done this three times before September 11. He insists he never spoke to the troops, interfered with them in any way, or initiated any physical contact. On September 11, he fell in behind a squad of Ohio National Guard troops near Logan Circle. After he started playing the Imperial March, O’Hara alleges that Sgt. Devon Beck turned to him and said, “Hey man,” before telling O’Hara to stop what he was doing and threatening to call D.C. police officers to “handle you.” When O’Hara continued his legal method of protest, Beck followed through on his threat.
When MPD officers arrived, O’Hara claims an officer told him to stop “harassing” the National Guard troops. When O’Hara answered that he was neither harassing nor assaulting the troops but rather engaging in protest, Officer JM Campbell allegedly told him, “That’s not a protest.” As the troops began to walk away, O’Hara attempted to follow. The lawsuit charges that Campbell and three other officers then used excessive force to handcuff and detain him, despite his offering no resistance.
The officers held O’Hara there for twenty minutes, ignoring his pleas that the handcuffs were too tight and hurting his wrists. While Campbell left to have a conversation with Beck, the other three officers told O’Hara he wasn’t under arrest but was stopped for “harassing the National Guard.” O’Hara was finally released once he said he no longer wanted to wait for a supervisor, a period he estimated to be between 15 and 20 minutes.
I Have a Bad Feeling About This
Represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), O’Hara’s lawsuit claims that both his First Amendment rights and Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the combination of federal agents and MPD officers. False imprisonment was used to suppress his right to free speech and peaceful protest, and the unreasonable seizure and excessive force were committed without probable cause or reasonable suspicion. It also alleges battery by the arresting officers, whom he accuses of aggravating an existing shoulder injury with malicious intent.
O’Hara is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Sgt. Beck, the four responding MPD officers, and the District of Columbia. Much like the former inhabitants of Alderaan, he claims to be a peaceful individual wronged by minions of an evil empire.
Related Resources
- Can I Sue the Police for Excessive Force? (FindLaw’s Enforcing Your Civil Rights)
- The Legal Showdown Over the National Guard in Oregon (FindLaw’s Federal Courts)
- Probable Cause (Findlaw’s Criminal Rights Law)
