Trump rally lawsuit goes on
Judge dismisses claims of civil rights violations, lets negligence claimcontinue
SAN JOSE — A federal judge Thursday dismissed three of four claims in a lawsuit against San Jose filed by supporters of Donald Trump who accused the city, mayor and police chief of allowing them to be attacked by protesters as they left a downtown rally.
Both sides claimed victory after U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh’s ruling on San Jose’s request to dismiss the case entirely as without merit.
“The city wanted the case to go away altogether, and that hasn’t happened,” said San Francisco attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon, also the vice chair of the California Republican Party, who is representing the Trump supporters who attended the June 2 rally. “I think it’s significant that negligence stays in the case because it means we’ll take depositions from city employees about their preparation and training for the event.”
City Attorney Rick Doyle said the case is nothing more than a publicity stunt and not a “legally viable case.” He said the city should have no problem
getting the negligence claim quickly dismissed.
“We have certain immunities from liability when it comes to police officers acting in the normal course of conduct,” Doyle said. “To say the police officers didn’t do what they could is just silly. We condemned the violence, and the police department has worked very hard to find the perpetrators that committed the violence.”
The lawsuit was filed in July on behalf of 14 plaintiffs who attended the political rally. It accuses the city, Mayor Sam Liccardo and police Chief Eddie Garcia of failing to protect Trump supporters who were “chased, beaten and assaulted” after leaving the event.
The city had asked the court to dismiss the entire case. But Koh dismissed three of the four claims, which alleged that the attendees’ civil rights were violated.
Koh did not dismiss the claim of negligence, allowing the lawsuit to continue. The judge scheduled a jury trial in 2018.
Dhillon plans to add seven more plaintiffs to the case, saying more rally attendees have come forward with similar claims. She will also name three to five additional noncity defendants.
The lawsuit claimed city leaders and police officers were “fully aware” of the volatile situation with the provocative Republican presidential nominee speaking in San Jose, yet still forced attendees to walk through the anti-Trump protesters.
Dhillon’s clients have said police officers, who wore full riot gear, looked on while Trump supporters were “brutally attacked.”
The suit also links the attacks to Liccardo’s loyalty to the Democratic Party as a potential motive for not protecting Trump supporters.
“Shortly after the rally, Mayor Liccardo, a registered Democrat and outspoken critic of Trump, released a statement to the press reiterating his personal distaste for Trump, and attempting to cast blame on Trump for the violence that occurred,” the suit says.
Liccardo, Garcia and other city leaders have called those claims “absurd” and maintain San Jose police officers acted “quickly and professionally” to protect the public. In its motion to dismiss the case, the city said the plaintiffs “allege no facts that even imply the Police Chief had, or acted from, political animus toward Donald Trump or the Republican Party.”
In addition to the negligence claim, the lawsuit alleged the city violated the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, and 14th Amendment rights to due process. While the judge dismissed those claims, she allowed Dhillon 30 days to amend her complaint and provide more evidence. Dhillon said she’ll refile that portion of the lawsuit.