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D.C. Pays Out $1.6 Million to Hundreds of People Falsely Arrested at Trump Inauguration

Lawsuits accused police of holding some anti-Trump protesters for 16 hours without giving them food, water, or access to restrooms.

Around 200 protesters who were arrested under false pretenses at Donald Trump’s inauguration four years ago are going to receive payouts for their alleged mistreatment, according to The Washington Post. The D.C. government has reportedly agreed to pay out $1.6 million to settle two lawsuits that accused police of unlawfully detaining hundreds of people in the city in January 2017. The first settlement will see the city pay $605,000 to six defendants represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, and almost $1 million will be shared out among around 200 other protesters. The lawsuits accused police of holding some protesters for 16 hours without giving them food, water or access to restrooms. ACLU-DC Legal Director Scott Michelman said in a statement: “The contrast between the over-policing of constitutionally protected speech on Inauguration Day 2017 and the under-policing of a violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol earlier this year starkly demonstrates law enforcement’s institutional biases.”