Shay Horse arrested at Trump inauguration protest
Independent journalist Shay Horse was arrested on Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington, D.C., while covering protests around the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Like other journalists and protesters arrested that day, Horse was charged with the highest level of offense under the district's law against rioting, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and fines of up to $25,000.
In February, the charges against Horse were dropped.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected]
Shay Horse is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia against the District of Columbia. On June 21, 2017, the ACLU issued a press release stating that it had sued the District of Columbia, Metropolitan Police Department officers, and D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham for excessive force and unconstitutional arrests on Inauguration Day, including violations of First Amendment.
The press release said that Horse had been “kettled and subjected to pepper spray, tear gas, and painful handcuffing.” He was also “denied food, water, and bathroom access for several hours.” Horse had also been “subjected to invasive manual rectal probe searches while in police custody,” and said he felt like he had been raped, according to DCist. In the press release, Horse was quoted as saying, “With this lawsuit, I want to stand up for all the protestors who were abused and bullied and assaulted and molested.”
According to the DC Post, the District of Columbia had filed for a dismissal of the lawsuit, which was denied on Sept. 27, 2019. The judge did, however, permit the motion for dismissal of some of the lawsuit’s claims.
