- Eli Durand McDonnell, 24, of Bar Harbor, Maine, was arrested for demonstrating outside the home of conservative legal activist Leonardo Liu.
- Durand McDonnell is suing the police, claiming they violated his First Amendment rights by arresting him and saying he was among dozens of protesters.
- They were protesting after the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion.
A protester arrested outside the home of conservative legal activist Leonard Love says police violated his First Amendment rights.
Eli Durand McDonnell, 24, of Bar Harbor, claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that two police officers led him to join several dozen protesters at Liu’s behest. He was charged with lewdness, but the charges were later dropped.
The arrest was made last summer during a demonstration after the US Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion.
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Liu, co-chairman of the conservative legal group The Federalist Society, helped lead former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul the federal judiciary, providing a list of potential Supreme Court nominees and advocating for them.
A Maine protester who was arrested outside the home of a conservative legal activist claims police violated his First Amendment rights.
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Police were called to Liu’s Northeast Harbor home on July 31, 2022, by his private security detail, and a police officer’s microphone captured an argument in which Liu acknowledged that the protesters were not on his property. Leo pointed out that Durand-McDonnell had allegedly cursed him and his family earlier in the day. “I think it’s time for us to lay some charges,” Liu said.
Liu is not on trial. The case targets two officers. A message left for officials was not immediately returned.
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Durand-McDonnell contends that he was exercising his First Amendment rights and that Maine law also requires an officer to observe the conduct in order to make a misdemeanor arrest.
Source by [Fox News]
