Man Handcuffed for Playing Darth Vader’s ‘Star Wars’ Theme to Protest National Guard Files Lawsuit

A Washington, D.C., man who was detained after playing the Evil Empire music from Star Wars to protest National Guard troops is suing the government for violating his constitutional rights.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday (Oct. 23), Sam O’Hara claims that he was wrongfully handcuffed and detained for playing “The Imperial March” — John Williams’ iconic villain music from the sci-fi franchise — as he recorded videos of the troops that he later posted to TikTok.

The case, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claims the brief detention violated O’Hara’s right to peacefully protest under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the ACLU wrote, playing on the famed opening text from Star Wars. “But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests.”

“The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme),” written by Williams, first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 sequel to the original Star Wars. The famed composer’s score for the film reached the No. 4 spot on the Billboard 200 in July 1980, eventually spending 28 weeks on the chart.

“In the Star Wars franchise, The Imperial March is the music that plays when Darth Vader or other dark forces enter a scene or succeed in their dastardly plans,” O’Hara’s lawyers write. “It is also the soundtrack of Sam O’Hara’s protest against the National Guard deployment in D.C.”

President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., in August and ordered the takeover of law enforcement in the city, with National Guard troops arriving in the capital shortly thereafter. The move, along with other military deployments to American cities, has been deeply controversial and led to widespread protests.

O’Hara, who was “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods,” began protesting their presence in his city by walking behind them as they marched through the streets — and by playing a score recognized globally as a theme for tyranny.

“Using his phone and sometimes a small speaker, he played The Imperial March as he walked, keeping the music at a volume that was audible but not blaring,” the ACLU’s lawyers write. “Mr. O’Hara recorded the encounters and posted the videos on his TikTok account, where millions of people have viewed them.”

According to O’Hara, most National Guardsmen “ignored Mr. O’Hara, and a few smiled or laughed,” but one was “not amused by this satire.” The trooper, Sgt. Devon Beck, allegedly turned around and threatened to call in local police to “handle” him if he kept playing the song. When O’Hara kept going, he says Metropolitan Police Department officers quickly arrived and put him in cuffs, shutting down his protest.

O’Hara says the cuffs were placed so tightly that they left marks on his wrists, and were not loosened after he complained. He also says his detention was “needlessly” prolonged before he was eventually released 15 to 20 minutes later.

In technical terms, the lawsuit names Beck, four D.C. police officers, and the D.C. District Attorney as defendants. It accuses them of violating both the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures.